Gan 'Edhen
by Cerberus of the Three Swords
Summary: A teenage girl, an orphan, a werewolf, and an escaped prisoner... Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. Nonetheless, things just got deadly serious as Harry and Hermione are spirited away to another world; a world much more dangerous than the one they left. No one said defeating a Dark Lord was going to be easy...
1. Chapter 1

**Gan 'Edhen**

**Prologue: Ponderings, Premonitions, and Preparations**

"_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... _

_Born to those who have thrice defied him,_

_Born as the seventh month dies... _

_And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal,_

_But he will have power the Dark Lord knows not..._

_And fortune shall smile upon the Dark Lord,_

_He will partake in the power of his foe…_

_And both shall travel through the ether,_

_To the Garden of Sin…_

_There, they shall wage war upon one another_

_And the Dark Lord will release the Fallen once more…_

_But the Chosen will fight back,_

_Possessing the strength of the Infernal Wyrm…_

_And either must die at the hand of the other,_

_For neither can live while the other survives…_

_And from the battle, the victor shall emerge_

_And reign for a dragon's age…_

_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord_

_Will be born as the seventh month dies..."_

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry drew the fragrant smoke from the stem of his pipe. It was a guilty pleasure very few knew of. He let the white haze slowly billow out of his mouth and he pondered the prophecy that his current Divination professor had given so many years ago.

The only person who knew the entirety of the prophecy was himself and he felt the need to keep it that way. The wording of the prophecy and phrases used were…worrying. He stood slowly from his massive desk and gazed up at the likenesses of his many predecessors gazing out from their paintings on the walls of his circular office. They moved back and forth from portrait to portrait, talking amongst themselves or they slept away on the furniture in their paintings and some even gazed out at him and nodded in acknowledgement before returning to their previous ventures.

Dumbledore put his pipe in his mouth and let it dangle as he stretched for a moment before relaxing. He walked out from behind his desk and checked the numerous silver instruments in his office. Some issued smoke, others chimed, others spun, and a few more swung back and forth… It was just entertaining to watch but the Headmaster used these for more than just entertainment. They were keyed into the various wards around certain residences that he had deemed important. Most were in fact tied to the wards of Hogwarts that he had strengthened some years back and the school itself was still slowly integrating them into its existing wards. Once the school was finished with this process, the instruments tied to them would be more or less useless…

A small number of the instruments though were tied to houses like the Burrow(the residence of the Weasley clan), Number 13 Grimmauld Place(the headquarters of The Order of the Phoenix, a vigilante group dedicated to fighting the forces of the recently resurrected Lord Voldemort), and finally, Number 4 Privet Drive Surrey, London.

In his opinion, the wards around the last address were the most important and yet…they were the weakest of all his protections. He frowned at the puttering device that issued an inconsistent series of smoke rings that were very wispy and easy shooed away with a single hand. The Headmaster just shook his head…

He never understood why the exceptionally powerful blood wards he had erected around the property refused to take hold on the property. As long as a blood relative lived under the same roof as Harry, the wards should have been nigh impenetrable! But still…the wards were barely functioning at their lowest level and no matter how much time he spent trying to perfect the wards through the instrument, they refused to bond…

Dumbledore wandered over to a window in a small reading nook with a cushy chair that let in the moonlight from the night sky. He settled into the chair and drew deeply from his pipe before releasing. He sat there a moment, relishing the sweet smoke, before flicking his hand at the lights in his office. The only source of light now was the half-moon outside.

The Headmaster's gaze did not see through the window but instead looked into its reflection. He could see himself in it. Many saw him as a grandfatherly man with a long flowing silver beard that he tucked into his belt and long silver hair as well. His long nose was crooked, having been broken twice. His half-moon glasses perched on his nose did nothing to hide his twinkling blue eyes. The skin of his face, the little that was visible, was tanned, wrinkled, and leathery much like his hands. Today he wore a violet robe with shooting stars dashing across and around the borders.

All in all, most saw an eccentric old man that was a lot like the fabled Saint Nicholas!

But Headmaster Albus Dumbledore saw deeper than that. He saw the depths of his own soul and knew different. Albus Dumbledore was tired…very, very, very tired… Two powerful Dark Lords had come and gone in his lifetime and he had even defeated one of them himself!

But now…one of them had come back. And to make it worse, it was the darkest and more powerful of the two… So, yes, Dumbledore was weary just _thinking_ about the upcoming fear and anger and death and…all the horrors that war brought about.

What drove him forward was this prophecy. If not for its existence, Dumbledore would have been done with it already and gone to destroy the mounting threat! He believed that every human being deserved the chance to make the right choice but Voldemort… He was a monster.

Corrupted beyond anything he had ever seen, Dumbledore knew without a shadow of a doubt that the Dark Lord Voldemort was as human as a fleshing eating slug was. In other words, not at all.

Unfortunately, Dumbledore could only sit back and watch as events unfolded before him and could only dread as the tension mounted higher. Some would ask, 'Why don't you train Harry so that he could defeat the dark blighter?'

The reason: Dumbledore was as wary of Harry as he was of Voldemort.

The prophecy spoke of some very…sinister power that Harry controlled. '_Possessing the strength of the Infernal Wyrm_,' was not something one just dismissed. Until Dumbledore figured out what this 'strength of the Infernal Wyrm' was, then Harry was best left to his own devices.

Also, another line made the Headmaster hesitate in doing anything. '_And from the battle, the victor shall emerge and reign for a dragon's age…_' So whoever won, regardless whether if it was Harry or Voldemort, they would reign for a dragon's age; roughly a thousand or so years. Voldemort had already tampered with extremely dark magic in order to prolong his life and keep himself anchored to this plane but Harry… Harry was just a normal teenager, as far as he knew. You don't just _rule_ for a thousand years without taking some kind of steps to give yourself pseudo immortality.

There was no ordinary magic that could be used to extend one's life; only extremely dark magic could do that. And yet, Dumbledore never detected any kind of dark magic around Harry…

It left Dumbledore entirely unsure what to do.

Would he only be trading one Dark Lord for another if Harry actually defeated Voldemort or what?

He shook his head and focused once more on the moon.

He could only wonder why life must be so difficult…

**X P X**

She gazed into the massive white crystal for a moment. It pulsed with a steady light that gradated to an infinite rainbow of colors. Her eyes flickered up to the night sky and then back down to the crystal. She waited another moment before asking, "You called for me?"

There was no response.

She was alone in a rather large amphitheater with high walls that were made of white stone. Suspended above her head in the center of the gathering place was the large crystal she had been observing. It floated in place with no wires or platforms or any means to hold it up whatsoever.

Then the crystal blazed with a multitude of colors and a voice that was both male and female, young and old, and guttural yet refined filled the arena, **"I have indeed called upon you."**

The woman ran her hand through long silky brown hair and replied, "Then speak."

Silence reigned for a moment before the voice echoed once more, **"The son of your daughter lives. He resides in the realm of Terra."**

Wind sprung up as a fury and frost flowered into existence below the woman's feet, "_You lie!_"

The voice was emotionless and informed her calmly, **"I am incapable of such actions. You know this."**

The wind died down and the woman took a deep breath and released, "Tell me then, why have you kept this knowledge from me, spirit?"

**"I am wise and can see into the past and the future but I am not all knowing. I only just saw the heir of your line this day in a vision. He will journey here to Edhen to seek out his parentage and then, and only then, shall you meet."**

"What stops me from journeying to him right now and bringing him here?"

**"I am your obstacle. And I shall remain so as I will not provide you passage to the realm of Terra."**

The woman sneered, "Then why bother telling me at all!?"

**"I felt it appropriate to inform you that your grandson was alive."**

The woman glared at the crystal before storming away.

**"May Michael watch over you."**

The woman shouted back, "To the Rephaim with you, worm!"

**X P X**

Hermione Granger was up late tonight reading a book.

It was a very good book and it had been some time since she had simply read a good fiction book. She smiled to herself. It wasn't really a surprise, after all, who needed fiction when the magical non-fiction was just as amazing and inspirational!

She folded down the corner of the page she was on, closed the book, and reached over and set it down on her nightstand. She looked around her room and felt a sense of comfort from being back at home. School had just let out a few days ago and as she went to a boarding school (not just any boarding, mind you, but Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!) she sometimes felt a little homesickness but as the years passed she felt it less and less. Hogwarts, it seems, had become a second home to her. However, there was just something about returning to the home of your childhood that was just…comfortable.

She shook her head, dispelling these useless thoughts before getting up off her respectable sized bed with red sheet and blankets. Her toes curled into the thick beige carpet that covered the floor of her room before standing up and walking to her simple white vanity, the only really feminine piece of furniture in the entire room. She sat down the low white stool and looked at her reflection.

She saw an ugly duckling with bushy hair and plain features that would never catch the eye of a smart, handsome boy. Specifically, she was thinking about her best friend, Harry Potter. Yes, she had feelings for her best friend. Was it wrong? Possibly. Did that change anything? No. She sighed as she glared at her reflection, hoping that maybe if she stared hard enough her hair would magically straighten, maybe even become blonde, and her eyes would change to something other than just plain boring brown! Grey would be nice… Maybe blue. Or possibly an emerald gree-…

She slapped her forehead with her palm.

'There I go again!' she thought, 'I'm a pervert, I swear!'

And so she resumed her activity of glaring balefully at her reflection. Her eyes made their way down to her chest. She scowled fiercely at this point. She was practically flat! And the same held true for her butt! It was no wonder that Harry only saw her as some kind of genderless creature… Her only saving grace was that she had always been somewhat on the slim side. What she would do to have a figure like Lavender Brown or Katie Bell or Susan Bones or…dare she say it…Cho Chang! She groaned in frustration before taking her brush out of the drawer of her vanity and began to brush her hair.

Just like many girls her age, Hermione Granger was insecure of her own appearance and often considered herself boring looking and sometimes ugly. For some girls, this is an unfortunate truth, but for Hermione, she was wrong in this case. Her "bushy" hair over the years had slowly started to become very curly, and if not for the fact she kept trying to brush it straight, she would have thick curls of hair that would be very pleasing to the eye. Her brown eyes, while common, still had their own unique flair. They were very light and had an almost golden hue to them. You could almost see her curiosity brimming to the surface if you looked into them. Her frame could be described as willowy. While she would never be "buxom," Hermione would discover there were just as many men who like figures like hers. And finally, a feature she never even thought about in her self-assessment, her smile. A few years ago, she had buck teeth until an incident with another student allowed her to trick the school nurse into shrinking her teeth. Having taken care of that problem, Hermione had a gorgeous pearly white smile.

All in all, Hermione was a very pretty girl who had yet to realize that she was pretty.

After unsuccessfully trying to brush her hair straight and only making her hair even bushier than before, Hermione set down her brush and made her way over to her window. She looked down from the second floor of her house to the manicured front lawn below before her eyes drifted up to the half-moon.

She felt a strange premonition that something was going to happen soon. Whether it would be good or bad, only time would tell.

**X P X**

Sirius pulled out four lockets from the old beaten trunk. They were fairly simple, nothing more than plain bronze. No, what made these important were the enchantments on the lockets. Yes, they would be crucial for what he had planned. Sirius considered putting one away since he only needed three but figured he might as well as take them all. You never know what could happen…

From the trunk he also pulled out an old journal; his to be specific. He briefly skimmed the pages but nothing really caught his eye. What he had seen had been etched into his mind apparently. Nonetheless, he flipped through each page until he came to a cutout in the book. Inside the cutout was a large silver skeleton key.

He lifted it from its cradle for a moment before placing it back inside. He closed the journal with a snap and put it inside a travel bag at his feet. He placed the lockets inside the bag as well.

Sirius reached into the trunk again and shuffled through the various things he had put in there to distract nosy people from the important pieces he had placed in here. His let out a small sound of triumph having found what he was looking for. In his hand was a one handed battle axe reminiscent of the Viking age but its blade was polished steel and the handle wrapped in leather to provide a better grip. It looked brand new for all intents and purposes.

Sirius was carefully inspecting tribal looking marks in the blade itself. They were only shallow depressions that one would hardly notice if you did not know to look for them. He nodded his head in approval and held the axe away from him. The markings suddenly lit up with red light and the axe head was wreathed in fire. The sound of the flames filled the silent attic of his home that had stored his trunk in and he smirked in satisfaction.

The sound of footsteps suddenly reached his ears and Sirius dropped the axe in surprise. It hit the floor and the flames disappeared from the blade, but not before lighting a robe he had thrown to the floor on fire. Sirius cursed and stamped out the flames quickly. He picked up the axe by its blade to try and hide it but let it go of it almost instantly. The metal was still quite warm from the fire.

"You're terrible at this. You're out of practice."

Sirius looked over and saw it was only Remus. He glared, "Jackass, you could've announced that it was you…"

Remus grinned, "And miss out on watching you make a fool of yourself? I think not."

And indeed, Sirius looked quite silly glaring out from underneath a mane of coal black hair with purple-grey eyes while nursing a burnt hand. His burgundy robes had also been singed a bit at the bottom from stamping out the fire.

Sirius just continued to glare at his friend. Remus just stood there in his tattered brown robes smiling. His scarred face looked younger when he grinned like that and his brown eyes danced with mischief like they did years ago. If Remus was wearing a Hogwarts uniform and his sandy blonde hair didn't have so much grey, Sirius could swear he would be seeing a double of a much younger Remus Lupin.

Sirius shook his head and picked up the axe by the handle this, checked the blade to see if it had cooled down, and then placed it in his travel bag.

Remus asked, "So I'm coming with you this time, right?"

Sirius had started to rummage through the trunk again, "Of course. Especially after what Lily and James learned over there. You're not being left behind this time. We've been preparing for this for half a year now."

Remus nodded, "Good."

Sirius straightened up, this time holding sheathed sword. It looked much like something that a medieval knight would have carried. Sirius drew the sword. It was much like the battle axe, polished steel with tiny engravings up the center of the blade. He nodded, his inspection complete, and held it away from him.

The engravings blazed blue and mist started to drift downward off the sword much like one would see when you open a freezer. Sirius placed the sword point lightly on the burnt robe on the floor and watched as frost spread from the point of contact. He smiled and the engravings dimmed once more. Sirius carefully scraped off the thin layer of ice that had formed on the blade before sheathing it. He then handed it to Remus.

"This was James' sword. It should serve you well when we depart."

Remus frowned, "Shouldn't Harry use this?"

Sirius shook his head, "He'll use Lily's. Trust me; he won't need the extra kick from these weapons like we will.

Besides, if he _really_ wants a flashy weapon," Sirius then reached back into the trunk and withdrew a very long and wide dagger. He unsheathed it and engravings on the blade lit up and tiny arcs of electricity started to dance up and down the metal, "then he can use this one."

Remus smiled, "Very well then."

Sirius ducked into the trunk again, "Take these too." Sirius hefted up a breastplate and heaved it to Remus. Remus stumbled a little but caught it all the same. Sirius also threw a heavy cloak at Remus which landed on top of the breastplate.

Remus examined the two items and saw that the cloak was actually made of dragon hide with very large black scales. The breastplate, including pauldrons, was also covered with a lot of the little engravings just like the dagger, axe, and sword.

Sirius explained as he continued digging in his trunk, "The breastplate was James' along with the cloak. When we get Edhen, you'll need the protection. The armor is enchanted like the weapons but instead to ward against physical attacks. It needs to be charged though so fill it up with magic while were here and then just top it off every night. It may take a while to fill it thought because it does have some pretty powerful wards. Believe or not, that thing is almost as good as if you were wearing a full suit of plate armor.

The cloak will, of course, come in handy to fend off attacks of the magic variety."

Remus looked dubious, "I would think Harry would need this…"

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Moony, just _trust_ _me_. Harry's going to be the one we worry about the _least_. I'm telling you, he's going to be an ass kicking machine _without_ all this crap! No, no, **we're** going to _need_ these far more than Harry. Besides…I only have two sets of those. Well…not including Lily's, but she hardly needed. Ditched 'em as soon as she was told how redundant it would be to wear them."

"Alright… If you say so."

"I do say so… Now help me pull out the rest of this stuff. This trunk has a major expansion charm on it and I forgot how much crap I piled into it…"

Remus sighed, "You idiot…"

Sirius just grinned a pearly white smile.

Remus stepped forward and started to dig through the old robes and books searching for items that looked important, "So, how do you plan on getting Harry here before his birthday? We only have about three weeks until then…"

Sirius smirked as he continued to dig through the trunk, "Simple, I'll bitch and moan to Dumbledore until he finally says yes. And if that doesn't work, I'll threaten to kick the whole lot of them out of my house! And he knows I can do it too. This house has pretty nasty wards on it and since I control them it'd be quite easy to do."

Remus raised an eyebrow and continued to work as well, "You'd really do that?"

Sirius replied, "In a heartbeat. Besides," he cackled, "I've been purposefully keeping the house dirty so that Molly and her brood, and anyone else for that matter, stay downstairs cleaning and they don't start snooping where they shouldn't!"

Remus guffawed, "You haven't!"

Sirius puffed out his chest with pride, "Oh, indeed I have, Moony! It's actually one of the subtler defense wards. Dust just doesn't cake on that thick, y'know? And all the pests? Well their nests are housed inside small warded compartments throughout the house and when the specific ward I'm talking about is activated, the pests are released and the wards encourage them to go at like rabbits."

Sirius did frown at this though, "Unfortunately, some other creatures were released when I activated the ward. I know that a lethifold was let out and I already took care of it but I'm having trouble finding the boggart that's snooping around here somewhere…"

Remus nodded in appreciation, "Well, besides the boggart and lethifold, it really is an ingenious way to keep people finding things they shouldn't."

Sirius groaned, "Seriously, Molly is a fucking pain in the balls! She walks around here like this is _her_ house! She seems determined to throw everything and anything _she_ thinks is 'dark'. I found her about to throw away _this_!"

Sirius took something out of his travel bag and handed it to Remus. Remus examined the object and what he saw made him very curious about what it was. The object had a single lens of green crystal enough to cover one eye, the left one in this case, and it was attached to a steel frame and arm that was connected to something that looked like it covered the left ear entirely with small slits in it. There was a piece that also snapped into place to hold onto the outer part of the ear.

While completing his examination, Remus asked, "I thought you hated all this stuff that your parents kept here?"

Sirius scowled, "I do! But y'know what? _I'll_ decide what gets trashed and what stays! Not some bossy housewife that wouldn't know useful if it bit her in her fat ass!"

"What does this thing do anyway?"

Sirius smirked, "Well, I bought this little baby back in Edhen but I forgot to store it in the trunk. What you have there, my friend, is an amazing device that lets you see in the pitch dark but also lets you hear far more then you could otherwise!"

Remus replied, "Can already do that. One of the _few_ advantages to being a werewolf."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Well, not all of us _can_ do that! It'll be bloody useful when we finally get to Edhen… Seriously, there's some scary shit that can sneak up on you in the dark. Hell…even during the day too."

Remus smiled and nodded, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."


	2. Chapter 2

**Gan 'Edhen**

**Last time:**

_**Sirius rolled his eyes, "Well, not all of us can do that! It'll be bloody useful when we finally get to Edhen… Seriously, there's some scary shit that can sneak up on you in the dark. Hell…even during the day too."**_

_** Remus smiled and nodded, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."**_

**Chapter 1: Riddles, Writing, and Rescues**

_He followed the glowing white figure forward._

_ He wasn't sure what the figure was exactly. It was fuzzy and always kept just far enough ahead so he couldn't make out a definite shape but when he stopped walking, it would stop as well. So he had assumed that it wanted him to follow it. The figure had done nothing to dissuade him of this fact so far…_

_ He looked down but couldn't see the ground beneath his feet, just thick white mist that swirled around his ankles. That's all he saw really; mist. This place was filled with it and partly the reason that he was having such a hard time making out the figure._

_ Yet, he continued to walk on and on._

_ Minutes dragged on and slowly turned to hours, hours turned to days, days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, and months turned to years. He felt like he had aged a century when he finally heard something beside his own footsteps._

_It was the sound of a large frog croaking._

_He cocked his head to see if he wasn't just imagining things and then he heard it again in front of him, "_Croak!_" He saw the figure had stopped when he paused to listen to the frog. He started walking again. Other frogs and insects soon started to join in until Harry reached a massive expanse of water that reflected the white of the mist. The water sat perfectly still and he looked down into and saw dark earth._

_He looked forward and saw that the figure was standing on the water, waiting for him. So he stepped onto the water. A single ripple extended from his step. He knew that he shouldn't be able to stand on the water but here he was, standing on water. Not questioning it anymore, he walked out onto the water and followed the figure, a single ripple expanding across the water's surface with every step._

_The noise of insects and amphibians disappeared behind him as the mist closed in. He walked for an hour or so before he saw the shore. It was the first solid ground he had seen, besides from the soil he saw in the water. He kept walking forward and stepped onto the small beach. It was then that he noticed that the white directly in front of him looked more solid than before._

_He walked forward, curious about this place where the mist didn't cover the ground and the ever present white seemed more real. It took only a few moments before he reached a gargantuan wall of white stone that disappeared into the mist on both his left and right and even above his head. In the center of the wall was massive iron gate._

_He stood there for a moment before realizing the figure had disappeared._

_Suddenly, he felt something grab his shoulders. There was the sound of leathery wings flapping and the ground and the gate disappeared from underneath him. The white wall stretched up and up and whatever had grabbed him seemed determined to reach the top._

_Then he burst out of the mist and the sun and blue sky was like a breath of air after so long in the oppressive white. He continued to rise even after the white wall stopped and the structure was revealed. It was a stronghold._

_Five large white towers connected by white walls formed the outer wall of the fortress while a single massive tower stood in the center of them. The outer towers were all connected to the large central tower by white walls as well. This divided the pentagon shaped bailey into five sections._

_The outer towers were flat on top and looked like they were platforms for something. The walls themselves had walkways on the top with battlements. All one needed to do to go from wall to tower platform was to climb a simple staircase at the end of the wall. The outer walls, he noticed, also had many arrow slits._

_He saw down into the baily and noticed that the inner walls that divided the fortress had portcullis in the center of the inner wall. The inner walls did not have a walk way on the top but instead a narrow ridge that was extremely dangerous to walk on lest you fall to your death. The inner sections were actually rather empty and only had a main stone pathway that led from the outer wall to the iron doors of the central tower and two smaller pathways that went from the middle of the main path to the portcullis in the inner walls. Asides from the pathways, there was only grass._

_He could feel whatever was holding him was flying up. They circled the central tower and he saw the arrow slits and other fortification but as they rose upward, arrow slits were replaced by windows with glass panes. Finally, they reached the top of the central tower._

_The tower possessed an amphitheater at the top. Stands like what could be found at a sports stadium circled the amphitheater except for a single pathway that cut straight through the platform that had a door at the end of it. The stands were made of stone like the rest of the stronghold and had little in the way of comfort._

_In the center of the amphitheater, there were five stone tables with matching stone benches facing a circular stone stage in the center of all the desks and in the very center of the amphitheater._

_What drew his eye though was not the architecture but the single massive white crystal radiating all the colors of the visible spectrum that floated above the amphitheater. It was spherical in shape and cut with an infinite number of facets._

_He didn't notice that he was descending until his feet touched the stone stage. He looked up over his shoulder but all he saw was a flash of white as whatever had been carrying him shoot forward into the crystal above his head._

_He stared at the large jewel for a moment and then realized it was also descending._

_Without noticing it, he started to walk forward. He and the jewel stopped at the same time. He looked into the depths of the gem and saw infinite rainbows of color but there was also a shadow in the crystal. The shadow grew in size and he realized it was his reflection._

_He looked at his wild jet black hair and his pale skin and then to his scar in the center of his forehead… But his scar wasn't there. His reflection had a single, emerald green, four sided diamond-like structure on his forehead. It was no bigger than his scar should have been but it made him curious. It was polished and shone like a jewel but it seemed…organic somehow._

_His gaze drifted down to his eyes and he started. There was something…alien about them but he couldn't understand what. It was like his mind refused to acknowledge the difference between what he knew what his eyes should like and what they looked like in his reflection._

_And then a voice spoke that was both male and female, young and old, guttural yet refined, "__**Son of Michael, I have seen your arrival in this land of Edhen. Your destiny hides from my gaze but I still sense a great purpose for you.**_

_**You will encounter many tests as you journey through this land of Edhen. You will doubt yourself and ask if you have what it takes to protect yourself and your dear ones. You do have what it takes…but it will take everything you have.**_

_**The Dog Star shall guide you and the Moon Child will serve you but only you can protect them from all the evils of this land of Edhen. Leave behind the one who harbors sloth and envy. He is like a weed, choking your potential. **_

_**The Daughter of Beauty must journey with you into the Garden. You will face many trials and gather strength with each, but only through the tenderness of the Daughter of Beauty will you become stronger. If the Daughter of Beauty is left behind, her faith will wither and you will never achieve the heights you would have risen to and the happiness that could have been will have been lost before it ever began.**_

_**Heed my warnings, son of Michael, and I can promise you that this pilgrimage will bruise, twist, and bend you but when you are forged anew; you shall rise greater than ever before.**__"_

_The light disappeared and he looked upward and saw the sun had been extinguished by black clouds. Lightning flashed and thunder roared before the rain fell. The electricity arced between clouds with increased frequency until there was only flashing light and a continuous roar of thunder._

_The rain increased until he felt like he was standing under a waterfall. The amphitheater started to flood and the water rose at a furious pace. He wanted to jump from the stage and onto the stone stands so that he might stay above the water but he found that his feet had become stuck to the ground._

_He struggled to move them in vain and the water rose until it covered his head. The icy water made him numb but he tried to pull his legs free with his hands but he could not break free. The last of his air escaped from his lungs as he looked upward._

_He realized that the jewel had disappeared and instead he was looking at the massive outer wall of the fortress. The stage had disappeared from beneath his feet and only the dark abyss of the lake was below. He tried to swim upward but the water had already filled his lungs and his sight faded._

_He sunk further into the darkness and he knew no more._

**X 1 X**

Harry Potter started to life with a deep breath.

He gulped massive volumes of air as he looked around his small bedroom in the home of his Aunt and Uncle. His breathing slowed as he realized that it was just a dream.

Harry rubbed his eyes with his right hand before reaching over to his nightstand and picking up his glasses. After placing the black circular frames on his nose, Harry could see the world with a little more clarity and reality sunk in more completely.

He threw his legs over the side of his bed and rested his head in his hands before shaking his head back and forth, 'This dream… It just won't go away…'

For over a fortnight now, Harry had been experiencing the same dream over and over. He walked through endless mist, walked across a lake, found a fortress, got an aerial tour of the place, listened to a monologue from a talking rock, drowned in an amphitheater which was actually the lake, and then died before waking up in his bed.

The dream made him uneasy. It was too real. After waking up, he always remembered the dream with startling clarity. The words that the jewel spoke to him were etched into his mind.

At first, he tried to forget about the dream but after reliving it three nights in a row without anything changing in them whatsoever, he started to try and interpret exactly what the crystal said to him. It seemed very straight forward but he was only able to figure out a few things about the…warnings that the jewel gave.

The Dog Star was of course Sirius. Harry had paid enough attention in Astronomy to know that. The Moon Child was a bit more difficult. Professor Lupin was a werewolf and werewolves were affected by the moon… But not satisfied with just assuming something like that, he considered any others but drew a blank… He sighed in frustration.

Harry also couldn't figure out who the Daughter of Beauty was. He didn't really know any supermodels or people who had supermodel mothers… It was probably something a bit more subtle than that but he could only shrug. The bit about "her tenderness" making him stronger made him blush for some reason but until he figured out who this Daughter of Beauty was, then there was no point.

The one who harbors sloth and envy… That thought made Harry very uncomfortable because when he thought about it for the first time, a name immediately sprung to mind and the thought startled him. So Harry left it alone and tried to figure out where this so called "Edhen" was…

He had never heard of it before and he had actually searched his history books to see if it was ever mentioned. Unfortunately, all Professor Binns ever covered was goblins so that was useless. Harry didn't think any other school books would mention "Edhen" as they all were more or less focused on a specific branch of magic and only his history books had ever mentioned other nations and lands, but only those related to goblins in some way…

Finally, he couldn't understand why the crystal had called him "son of Michael." Who was Michael and how was Harry his son? Maybe a great-grandfather or something?

He groaned and figured that was enough contemplating of riddles today and got out of bed. He walked over to his wardrobe and opened the door. The first thing that caught his eye was his reflection in the mirror hanging on the inside of his door. What Harry saw was his normal reflection.

Harry was fourteen years old; at least he was until next week. He was on the short side for being almost fifteen, only about five feet and eight inches. He had a horrible case of bed head but it never really matter because his jet black hair would just never lie down. His skin was very pale but also rather clear of acne for his age. There were two unique features that Harry rather liked about him, particularly so after his Aunt Petunia mentioned how horrid and ugly they were. The features he was talking about were his scar and eyes.

In the center of his forehead was a single lightning bolt shaped scar. His fondness for his scar had waned some in the past few years as it was the mark of his unwanted fame in the world of witches and wizards but he still rather liked it. He still held his eyes in a very high regard. Even though they were behind his circular glasses, his eyes were still very startling to many who met him for the first time.

Harry looked very much like his father but his eyes were purely his mother. They were almond shaped and a beautiful shade of emerald green that at times seemed to burn with a kind of intensity. Personally, Harry thought that his Aunt was jealous of his eyes.

Harry drew himself out from his momentary narcissism and took out a change of clothes. He walked over to his door and quietly opened it. He peeked around the door frame and listened for any kind of movement. The house was quiet and he heard a duet of labored breathing meaning at least his cousin Dudley and his Uncle Vernon were asleep. He didn't hear any movement downstairs so that meant his Aunt was most likely asleep as well.

Not surprising as it was Saturday.

Harry sighed in relief, happy to have a little peace for a little while longer. He quietly made his way down the hallway to the bathroom. He closed the door with a quiet click and locked the door. Setting the clothes down, he took in the plain and sterile white of the bathroom that his Aunt seemed to favor. It reminded him of the mists and the white fortress… He shook his head to get rid of the thought and then relieved his bladder.

After flushing the toilet, Harry quickly stripped and turned on the water of the shower. After letting it warm up, he jumped under the spray. Wasting no time, he lathered up and used some of Dudley's shampoo. Once he finished rinsing off all the suds, he simply stood under the water for a moment. He slowly turned off the cold water until the stream was steaming hot. He groaned in pleasure feeling the hot water loosening tight muscles.

This was the closest he got to luxury at the Dursleys'.

Turning off the water, Harry stepped out of the shower and grabbed a hanging towel before toweling off quickly before drying the floor of the water that dripped off him when he stepped out of the shower.

Harry wiped the mirror looking into and checking if he needed to shave.

All he really saw was some dark peach fuzz. He huffed in annoyance, when was he going to start growing in some kind of facial hair? All the other Gryffindor guys in his year had already started shaving but he still was more or less hairless.

Deciding not to worry about it, Harry gathered up his dirty clothes and made his way back to his room. He decided that he should try and finish that Potions essay that he had already started. He wasn't really looking forward to it but figured he had to get it done at some point.

He had already finished his Charms and Transfiguration papers but Potions held a special place of contempt in his heart. He took his anger out on his clothes and hurled them with more force than necessary into his growing pile of dirty laundry.

So he took out the parchment his Potions essay was located on and his Potions text for reference. His inkwell and quill were already out, waiting for him to finish his essay. He took a breath in preparation and opened his book.

He worked at a steady pace, knowing full well that this was a rough draft that he would have to rewrite once he was done. Harry heard the Dursleys start to wake up and move about the house. He could hear the floor and stairs protest as his Uncle Vernon and Dudley walked on them. He could also hear the _click-click_ of heels as his Aunt walked around the kitchen making breakfast.

Why she always got dressed in these nice dresses and heels and did her hair and wore jewelry _just_ to do housework Harry would never understand. Frankly, her obsessive compulsive behavior to have a perfectly _normal_ house led to the house feeling more like a hospital or a rehabilitation center.

A few hours later, he finished his rough draft and leaned back and stretched. Deciding that it was high time that he got something to eat, Harry got up from his cluttered desk and started downstairs. The telly was blaring some program that sent Vernon and Dudley into uproarious laughter that sounded more like the hooting of a pair of gorillas.

He walked past the entrance to the family room and made his way to the kitchen. He paused outside the kitchen for a moment to listen… He didn't hear heels so maybe his Aunt had stepped out…? Harry opened the kitchen door and found that he had no such luck.

His Aunt was sitting at the kitchen table and when she heard the door she looked up and sent him an absolutely scathing glare.

Petunia Dursley was not a pretty woman in any sense of the word. She was extremely thin, dangerously so, with a long neck and a certain emaciated look that made her look like a horse. She had thin blonde hair that was tied up in some kind of hairstyle, he didn't know what it was but if he called it a bun he'd probably be called ignorant and hear how it was the new style that Misses So-and-so had started wearing. Her eyes were a pale blue that appeared to be as shallow as her personality was. She was, of course, wearing a ridiculous dress that would look normal if she was at a formal meeting for parents or something. Her heels were equally as pompous. And the final touch was her pinched expression that she wore whenever she saw Harry, as if she had just sucked on an _extremely_ sour lemon.

She asked him in a condescending tone, "Just waking up, you slothful boy?"

Harry wore a fixed smiled, "No, I've been working on my homework. I actually got up before all of you."

If possible, his Aunt's expression became even tighter.

Harry walked past her to the fridge and started looking for something to eat when he heard her ask, "What are you looking for, boy?"

He sighed, "Something to eat."

"You can take an apple, that's all."

Harry bit his lip to stop from snapping and breathed slowly before replying in a scarcastic tone, "Oh, that's too bad. I'll just have to tell my mass murderer godfather who killed thirteen muggles…oh, excuse me, _normal_ people with just a wave of his wand that I'm _so_ hungry! Oh, sorry, I forgot! You don't like the 'w' word."

Harry looked back at his Aunt and she had turned the shade of old porridge and her lips had all but disappeared from pursing them so much. She stood and said tightly, "Very well!"

She then stormed from the kitchen.

Harry blew a raspberry at her retreating figure and returned to his foraging. After securing some different snacks, including an apple and a bottle of water, he retreated to his room to enjoy his spoils. He stayed in his room for the rest of the day except to use the restroom. He wrote the final draft for his potions essay and spent the afternoon searching for any reference to Edhen. Around seven o'clock, he gave up and went downstairs to get something to eat. After securing something from the fridge, he was on his way back to his room when he saw the Dursleys had gathered in front of the front door.

They were all dressed up and well groomed.

His Aunt Petunia had changed into an even more garish dress and heels while his Uncle and cousin were wearing suits.

Vernon Dursley and Dudley Dursley could be mistaken for clones except that Vernon had a thick blonde mustache. They were both bigger than any one human had a right to be and the floor shook when they walked. They both had a thick layer of blonde hair on their fat heads and piggish watery blue eyes.

When Harry entered the entrance hall, Vernon fixed him with a glare but didn't comment on the food. Instead, the large man informed Harry, "Your aunt, cousin, and I are headed to a lawn competition tonight. I'll be locking you in your room, understand?"

Harry nodded and walked past them up to his room and closed his door. A moment later he heard the stairs creaking as Vernon made his way up them and the locks on his room snapped shut. Vernon wiggled the handle and pulled on the door to check that it was secure before heading down the stairs.

There was the sound of the front door opening and the closing and being locked. Cars doors were opened and slammed shut before the sound of an engine came to life. The sound of the engine started moving before it faded down the street. Harry sighed and prepared for another boring night.

He ate his unconventional dinner while continuing his search for the elusive Edhen in his books. After an hour, he figured he might as well go to sleep. He wasn't making any headway on Edhen and he had finished all his summer homework. Shrugging, Harry stripped off his pants, put his glasses on his night stand, and curled up in his bed.

**X 1 X**

Harry's eyes snapped open.

He was perfectly still and listened intently. He didn't know why, but something woke him up and now his adrenaline was pumping. After a moment, he released a breath he didn't realize he had been holding and turned over to go back to sleep. He just closed his eyes when the sound of breaking china reached his ears.

He sprung up out of his bed and grabbed his glasses. Putting them on, he found his wand first and then put on his pants. One just doesn't feel too brave if you're walking around in your underwear. He slipped on his worn trainers while keeping an ear out for any footsteps. Feeling sufficiently prepared, he waited another moment to see if he could figure out who it was by sound alone.

He heard several voices now and none of them were bothering to whisper. He considered that they might be burglars but Harry thought they would have definitely been a bit stealthier. He thought they might be kids from the neighborhood vandalizing the house to get back at Dudley in some way but once again, you'd think they'd be a bit quieter.

It wasn't until he heard one of the voices say something about muggles that he realized they were wizards. Not knowing if they were friendly or not, Harry thought about just hiding behind his bed and using it for cover but also considered going out the window. He walked to the window and looked out it. It was easily a fifteen foot drop or more and Harry didn't fancy breaking his neck.

He bit his lip before going with his first instinct. He crouched behind his bed and waited.

It was about five minutes before he heard two people climbing the stairs. The stopped in front of his door and Harry tensed. Then a voice said through the door, "Get out from behind the bed and put the wand down before you put out your damn eye!"

Harry started. He knew that voice. It was the voice of last year's Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody.

Harry asked, "Why should I?! You break into my house and demand that I just put down my wand? You really are mad!"

Moody let out a bark of laughter and replied, "Very good, lad! Constant vigilance! Now, Lupin, convince your young friend here to come out so we can get a move on."

Harry cocked his head, Professor Lupin was here?

And sure enough, Lupin's voice floated through his door, "Harry, we're here to take you from the Dursleys'. Will you attack me if I open the door?"

Harry replied, "I don't know. What did you tell Snape when he was trying to confiscate the map during my third year?"

Remus chuckled, "I told him the map was a prank item from Zonko's."

Harry sighed in relief, "Okay, you can open the door."

There were multiple clicks as the locks were undone one at a time and then the door opened and standing in the doorway was his old professor. His robes were a little more worn, there was more grey in his hair, and a few more scars here and there but it was definitely Professor Lupin.

Harry smiled and got out from behind his bed, "It's nice to see you, Professor!"

Remus smiled back, "It's good to see you as well. And, Harry, I'm not your professor anymore! Please, call me Remus or Moony."

Harry only grinned in response.

Lupin rolled his eyes and said, "Well, let's pack, shall we?"

With a wave of his wand, Remus cleaned, folded, and stowed away clothes, stacked books, and organized knick-knacks. Before long, all his belongings had been packed away in his trunk.

Harry then walked up to Hedwig's cage. She had been watching them the entire time curious from her perch. Harry asked her, "Would you like to go to Hogwarts for the summer? We're probably going to the Burrow so if you come you'll have to deal with Ron's owl, Pig."

Harry could see the distaste in her eyes and she bobbed her head before hopping out of her cage. She spread her wings and flew out the window towards Hogwarts.

Without a word, Remus cleaned the cage with a bit of magic, shrunk it, and stowed it in Harry's trunk. He closed the trunk and latched it shut. Lupin then shrunk the trunk and handed it to Harry before he asked, "Is there anything else?"

Harry nodded, "Just my broomstick in the cupboard under the stairs."

Remus nodded and led Harry out of the bedroom and down the stairwell. Harry blinked at all the wizards and witches present at the bottom of the stairs. There was a lot of hand shaking and introductions. Only a few stood out to Harry, that being Nymphadora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Tonks was a metamorphmagus which meant that she could change her appearance at will. Her current appearance was that of a well-endowed twenty-something year old witch that was slightly taller than him with a heart shaped face, short pink hair, and lively hazel eyes. When she introduced herself, she happily reported that it was her who fooled the Dursleys with a bogus lawn competition.

Kingsley was a tall and powerful looking wizard of African descent. He was also an accomplished auror. Tonks was also an auror but she only had recently become a full-fledged officer.

During his observations, Remus had freed Harry's broomstick from its prison and Harry relished seeing his Firebolt again. Moody then started directing everyone into the family room and instructed everyone to form a circle.

While every shuffled about trying to do what Moody instructed, Harry pondered, "I thought I wasn't going to be able to leave until after my birthday…"

Moody clarified his thoughts and said, "Well, Black bitched and moaned enough to Dumbledore that the old goat finally gave in. And good thing too! If he had waited any longer, we might have had to fly instead getting this portkey."

Harry asked, "Why's that?"

Moody quirked an eyebrow on his scarred and disfigured face, his magical eye spinning circles, "Boy, haven't you been reading the papers? Dumbledore's name is in the shitter as well as yours. That pansy Minister is trying to sweep everything under the rug and it's working too. Dumbledore has already lost his position as Chief Warlock. I reckon he'll be ousted from his position in the Wizengamot as well in a few days."

Harry's jaw dropped, "You mean Voldemort's back and everyone is just _refusing_ to believe he is and on top of that the people who can do something about it are launching a smear campaign against me and Dumbledore!?"

Many in the room flinched at the use of the Dark Lord's chosen name before Remus answered, "That's the short and simple version. We'll get into more depth when we get back to headquarters."

Harry was steaming now but nodded sharply. He stuffed his shrunken trunk in his pocket along with his wand and held onto his broomstick tightly. After seeing everyone had formed an appropriate circle, Moody withdrew a small metal hoop from his pocket. He tapped it twice and it grew in size until everyone could grab it easily without feeling too squeezed.

Moody said, "Portkey activation in three…two…one…cockroach cluster!"

And the group disappeared into a swirling matrix of colors as a feeling reminiscent of a hook grabbing you by your navel descended upon them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Gan 'Edhen**

**Last Time:**

_**Moody said, "Portkey activation in three…two…one…cockroach cluster!"**_

_** And the group disappeared into a swirling matrix of colors as a feeling reminiscent of a hook grabbing you by your navel descended upon them.**_

**Chapter 2: Fights, Frustrations, and Fireplaces**

Harry landed on his face in a patch of grass feeling quite nauseous. He slowly picked himself up and waited for the world to stop spinning. Once he felt stable enough to stand, he stood up and checked to make sure he had everything. His shrunken trunk and wand were still in his pocket and in one piece and he was still holding his broomstick, also undamaged. He realized his glasses had a large crack in the left lens.

He was just about to ask one of the many wizards who came to escort him when Remus came up and repaired it without a word. Harry smiled in thanks and Lupin nodded. Harry looked around their landing site and saw that it was a rundown sort of neighborhood cul-de-sac in London by the looks of it. Flickering streetlight barely lit the pavement and left the rest of the neighborhood in total darkness.

Moody then shuffled up to Harry, the clack of his clawed wooden leg muffled on the dirt and grass. He handed a piece of paper to Harry and commanded, "Memorize that."

Written in beautiful calligraphy that Harry recognized as Dumbledore's handwriting:

_The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix_

_is located at Number 12 Grimmauld Place_

Moody asked, "You memorize it?"

Harry nodded, "What's the Order of the Ph-…"

Moody snapped, "Not now! Wait until we get inside."

Harry clammed up and nodded again.

Moody sniffed and told him, "Now, I want you to focus at space between Number 11 here," he pointed to the house on their left, "and Number 13 there." He now pointed at the house on their right.

"Now focus on what you read. Do you see it?"

And before Harry's eyes a house suddenly appeared that had the number twelve on the door in gold. Harry then felt the paper being snatched from his hand and looked over to see Moody burning it.

Seeing Harry's questioning gaze, Moody answered the unspoken question, "Can't be too careful. Wouldn't want that falling into the wrong hands."

Harry nodded before following the others into the house. They quietly filed into the house and all Harry saw was darkness before gas lamps sputtered to life in the entrance hall. He noticed everyone was very quiet which made him curious as they had no problem with talking while at the Dursleys'.

A door opened at the end of the hallway and Molly Weasley hurried out of it. Misses Weasley was the same as ever; red hair, short, plump, warm brown eyes, and a natural fragrance like the smell of home cooking. She announced in a whisper, "Hurry on you lot! The meeting has already started!"

The group then moved to enter through the door that Misses Weasley had come out of. As Harry made to follow them, Molly stepped up and warmly greeted him with a tight hug, "Harry dear! It's so good to see you!"

She held him at arm's length to inspect him. She clucked her tongue and shook her head, "You really need to eat more, dearie! I'm sure you're hungry but we're meeting in the kitchen right now. Head upstairs to the second floor, first door on your right! That'll be yours and Ronald's room for the summer. He and Hermione should be up there!"

She hugged him again and scurried back through the door she had entered through and it snapped shut behind her.

Harry just blinked at the very hurried interaction. He didn't even get to reply to anything she had said. He shrugged and headed up the stairs. He stopped at the first landing, eyeing the stuffed House Elf heads curiously, as a thought occurred to him. Except for the beginning of summer he hadn't really sent any letters to either Ron or Hermione. Correspondence with Ron was always touch-and-go but Hermione usually sent Harry a letter every few days and vice versa for Harry.

He realized she had continued to send him letters until about a week ago but it had been about two weeks and some change since he had sent her anything. Suddenly Harry was very nervous about her reaction. It wasn't totally his fault! These dreams had been messing with him for almost two weeks and then before that she had gotten on him about finishing his summer homework and he didn't want to tell her that he hadn't even started it yet…

Maybe he would get some slack since he had finished his homework…?

Probably not…

Harry also considered the fact that she was here. She hadn't mentioned anything about meeting with Ron or the Weasleys in her letters but Harry was sure that she would have mentioned it. In fact, the last letter she had sent said she was planning on doing something with her parents. Since she had stopped sending letters about a week ago and she hadn't mentioned any of this then logic dictated that she probably was "kidnapped" in the middle of the night like he was.

He shrugged at that and figured he would know what was going on soon enough. Some would be curious why he wasn't angry that his two best friends were at the headquarters of some Order and they hadn't bothered to tell him.

Well, it was because Harry had more or less cut off communication as well and because he was more concerned about these dreams then what was going on, especially after hearing that the Ministry was just going about its usual business and that they were trying to drag his name through the mud.

If they were doing this then Voldemort was laying low. He could figure that out without someone spelling it out for him. If Voldemort started massacring the innocents and burning down cities, then the Ministry wouldn't be trying to deny his return but if Voldemort was keeping to the ground and there was no evidence other than the word of a fourteen year celebrity and the dead body of a well-loved student then… Well…one doesn't need to be a genius to figure out what was more likely.

In the beginning of the summer, Harry had actually thought about what had happened a lot. He had developed a particular approach to dealing with his anger and figuring out his problems. Simply, he would imagine he had an outside perspective to the matter and wasn't emotionally invested in the issue.

This approach led to a very painful conclusion… If not for the fact that Harry was more or less a national hero and they were both registered in a dangerous competition that has been known to kill competitors before, it's possible that he could have been a suspect for the murder of Cedric Diggory, his fellow classmate and a victim of Lord Voldemort. Hell, he might still be a suspect except no one wants to be the one to say it.

Harry took a deep breath before making his way to the room Misses Weasley had talked about. He stood outside the door for a moment and could hear quiet voices behind it. He took another breath and knocked on the door.

The voices halted and he waited a moment before opening the door. There, sitting on beds, on opposite sides of the room were Ron and Hermione. Ron was laid out on his bed in a pair of pajama bottoms and a Weasley sweater while Hermione was seated on the other bed wearing a pair of sweat pants and a big T-shirt.

They all stared at each other for a moment before smile wormed its way onto Harry's face he started chuckling at their dumbfounded expressions. In that moment, Harry saw Ron's rigid frame relax and a brilliant smile spread across Hermione's face before she jumped up.

In the span of less than a second, she had run across the room and plowed into Harry. His broom went flying one way and he went the other. He landed on his back in the hallway outside the room with Hermione wrapped around his middle. Harry's mind caught up with what had happened and he wrapped his arms around Hermione, returning her hug, and breathed in her vanilla scented shampoo from the mass of curls that obscured his vision.

With a smile Harry asked, "Happy to see me?"

Hermione used one hand to drawn her hair out of his face and behind her once more, "Well, to be honest, I thought you would have been furious!"

Harry shook his head, "Nah. Really, I thought you were going to be really mad at _me_! I've been kind of MIA these last few weeks…"

Hermione put a finger to her lips in thought, "I forgot about that…" She then hit him in the shoulder…_hard_.

Harry held his shoulder in surprise and pain, "**Ow!** You didn't have to hit me!"

She smiled, "Now were even."

Hermione then got off of him none too gently, using his chest to push herself up and "accidently" putting her knee into his stomach.

Harry glared up at her but his gaze didn't hold all that much venom and she only smiled down at him smugly. He rolled his eyes when she offered her hand to help him up. Nonetheless he took it. He then gave a mighty yank and Hermione flew off her feet and landed beside him on the floor.

Harry then happily bounced up and ran into the room before Hermione could exact revenge. He closed the door and locked it to irritate her some more. He grinned before making his way over to Ron who was only shaking his head at their antics.

Ron stood up though, having grown a few more inches over the summer and gave Harry a brotherly hug, "How ya doin', mate?"

Harry responded, "Fine, and you?"

His red headed friend grinned as he heard Hermione pounding on the door, "Just dandy!"

They shared a laugh before Harry decided to take pity on Hermione and unlocked the now silent door. He opened it but hid behind the door. He heard Hermione walk in and ask in a sing song voice, "Oh, I wonder where Harry is?"

The door suddenly cracked him in the head and he was being squished between the door and wall. Hermione then informed Harry, "Behind the door? Really? That's like the first place to look besides under the bed or in the wardrobe!"

For such a small girl, Hermione could be pretty strong when she wanted to be. Nonetheless, Harry pushed the door off him and Hermione tumbled to the floor. She picked herself up before rushing him. Harry instead ducked down and caught her on his shoulder. He unceremoniously lifted her up and she shrieked and kicked, "Put me down!"

Harry laughed, "What are you, like all of a hundred pounds soaking wet? I'm small for a guy but you're a hamster! You can't hurt me!"

She growled and seemed determined to prove him wrong. She punched and kicked before Harry threw her down face first on the bed Ron wasn't laying down on and laughing at them from. Harry then sat down on the middle of her back and she struggled for a little before giving up.

She propped herself up on her elbows and looked up at Harry who was grinning at her. She groaned, "Whatever…"

Harry started to laugh and asked Ron, "So anything interesting this summer?"

Ron shook his head, "Not really. Just been here cleaning up for like two weeks and the Burrow before that. Hermione showed up about a week ago and then you just showed up. That about accounts for my summer…"

Hermione informed Harry, "And he hasn't even _bothered_ to start his summer homework!"

Ron glared at Hermione before saying, "Harry, I think your seat is being rude. You should do something about that!"

Harry threw back his head and laughed.

**X 2 X**

They talked for almost an hour, the Weasley twins (Ron's older and better looking brothers) also _popped_ by, quite literally as they had just received their apparition licenses. Ginny (Ron's younger sister) also came by but seemed moody and irritable after entering the room. They talked about how the Order of the Phoenix was a vigilante group led by Dumbledore and how they battled against Voldemort during the First War.

With Voldemort's return, Dumbledore reformed the Order and had started counter operations against the Dark Lord by sending envoys to peoples who had allied with Voldemort in the First War. This included the werewolves, giants, and vampires along with a few other select groups.

Fred and George, the twins, showed Harry their new inventions that they had just created; Extendable Ears! With these long flesh colored strings, they explained, they had been able to listen on the earlier meetings. At least until their mother, Molly, found out. Ever since then, there was always an imperturbable charm on the kitchen door so that they couldn't listen in. Misses Weasley had also made it her personal mission to destroy all the Extendable Ears she could find. Needless to say, the red headed twins were loath to part with any more than what had already been sacrificed.

When footsteps were heard coming up the stairs, the freckled menaces immediately _popped_ away before the bedroom door was opened without any sort of warning. Misses Weasley walked into the room and looked around suspiciously, "I could have sworn I heard the twins in here…"

All occupants of the room made it a point not to make eye contact. Molly sighed and shook her head, "Very well. The meeting is over and dinner is almost ready."

As she was walking out, Harry and Hermione's rather…unique position caught her eye. Over the course of the hour, they had never bothered to change their arrangement. She frowned and said, "Harry! That's no way to treat a lady! And Hermione, such conduct is unsuitable for a young woman such as you!"

Misses Weasley then continued out of the room and down the hall.

Harry complied and got off of Hermione and sat down towards the foot of the bed by her legs. Surprisingly, Hermione had something to say, "Unsuitable conduct? It's not like we were snogging, for heaven's sake."

Harry face felt very warm for some reason and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ginny frown. Hermione continued and queried to Ginny, "Not to be a busybody, but if I remember correctly, wasn't your mother telling you and I last summer about how she used a love potion on your father and about all the broom closets she visited with him at Hogwarts…?"

Ginny scrunched her eyebrows together and ran her fingers through her straight crimson hair. Her dark brown eyes looked at Harry and then back to Hermione before answering, "Yeah... I actually tried to forget about that to be honest."

The atmosphere in the room had become very tense and Harry saw both Ginny and Ron were unhappy about something while, for the first time Harry could ever remember, Hermione seemed oblivious to the obvious.

Using the break in conversation, Harry announced, "I'm going to go downstairs to the kitchen!"

Quickly making his way out of the bedroom, Harry descended the stairs and entered through the doorway to the kitchen. Tonks and Remus were seated at a large wooden table in the middle of the kitchen talking in low voices while Molly went about making dinner. The room seemed unwelcoming much like how the rest of the house seemed to feel, but there was a kind of warmth about the place that made the feeling dissipate.

Misses Weasley looked up from her cooking and saw him. She announced, "Just a few more minutes, Harry dear! Just sit at the table."

Harry complied and saw Tonks and Lupin finish up their conversation as he made his way over. Remus smiled warmly, "How do you like the house, Harry?"

Harry pulled out a seat and sat down, "Well…seems a bit unfriendly…"

Remus looked ready to reply before Molly jumped in and put in her two cents, "Not surprising considering it was owned by the _Blacks_! Dark family. Very, very dark family."

Remus rolled his eyes behind her back before saying what he was going to before he was cut off, "You'll get used to it."

Tonks snorted, "I'll only get used to it when I stop tripping over that damn umbrella stand. I always trip over it if I'm not watching for it! I swear that it's purposefully tripping me!"

Remus patted her on the head in a patronizing manner before withdrawing his hand quickly when she tried to nip his wrist. Harry laughed at the affronted expression on Remus' face while Tonks wore a feral smile.

A moment later, Hermione walked into the room and sat down next to Harry. She asked, "Do you know what's for dinner?"

Harry kept watching Remus and Tonks as they started to bicker in a harmless sort of fashion and smiled, "No, I've been too busy watching these two…"

Hermione also started smiling after seeing the good natured fighting.

Remus admonished, "Nymphadora, it's entirely inappropriate and childish for a woman your age to try and bite people!"

"Childish, smhildish! And stop calling me **Nymphadora**! It's Tonks, dammit! And I'll keep biting you if you continue to call me that!"

Remus held out his hand in a placating gesture, "Very well! Tonks! Happy?"

Tonks smiled, "Yes!"

Remus shrug and one palm upward in confusion, "I don't understand why you hate your name… Nymphadora is a be-… **Ow!**"

Tonks had fastened her jaw onto Remus' hand which he had unconsciously gestured with.

Harry laughed before suddenly the sound of banshee, or something similar filled the house, "_**Stains of dishonor, filthy half-breeds, blood traitors, children of filth!**_"

Remus moaned, "Now look what you've done, you silly woman…"

Tonks shrugged, "Not my fault you're a baby."

Remus scowled before sighing in frustration, "Harry, help me shut that damn thing up."

Lupin got up from his seat and Harry quickly followed him out of the kitchen. There in the entrance hall was a large portrait of a rather…crusty looking woman. If he had to guess, she had been hidden behind the moth eaten curtains that were now drawn to the sides.

At this close to her, Harry could hardly understand what she was screaming but he heard Remus shout, "Grab those curtains and pull them shut!"

Harry complied and soon both he and Remus were heaving, trying to close the curtains. Tonks soon came out and joined Remus. The three of them pulled and pulled until Harry faintly heard the sound of pounding steps and someone came up behind him and helped pull.

The person behind Harry shouted, "**Shut up, **_**you dusty old hag**_**!**"

The portrait paused for a moment in its screaming and that seemed to be the all they needed to shut the curtains.

Harry breathed for a moment, his heart slightly pounding from the exertion. He then looked up at who had come to help him and saw Sirius. Harry was pleasantly surprised to see that he looked a hundred times better than when he had seen him last year.

His coal black hair was shoulder length and well groomed and he also had a neatly trimmed mustache and goatee. He was wearing a set of black slacks, leather shoes, and a maroon dress shirt. His purple-grey eyes had a Dumbledore-esque twinkle as he looked at Harry. He smiled and revealed a handsome smile filled with straight ivory teeth.

Sirius greeted, "Hello, Harry. I see you've met my mother."

Harry walked up to Sirius and embraced him, "She's a real piece of work."

Sirius let off a bout of barking laughter as they seperated, "That she is, pup!"

He then slung his arm around Harry's shoulders and said, "Now c'mon! I smell food and you've gotta fight in this house if you wanna eat!"

**X 2 X**

Thankfully, Harry didn't actually have to fight anyone to eat.

Misses Weasley had, as always, made plenty for everyone and then some. There was laughing and talking and just general socializing around the table. Tonks was entertaining Hermione and Ginny by changing her nose into different shapes and sizes and species with her unique abilities. It seemed that the twins and Sirius had an ongoing rapport as they laughed and joked with one another. Molly was talking quietly with Remus about something or other and Ron… Well, Ron was never one to socialize when there was food about. Harry was still surprised with how much he could stuff into his mouth at one time but had come to accept it over the years.

Misses Weasley admonished Ron from down the table, "Ronald! What atrocious manners! Please, there are ladies present."

Ron swallowed, "Sorry…"

Harry noticed the way Misses Weasley had looked at Hermione when she said 'ladies.' He got the feeling that Misses Weasley was trying to hint something to Ron and that thought made him decidedly uncomfortable for some reason.

Harry squirmed in his seat as he thought about it.

Sirius noticed Harry's discomfort as he was sitting next to him, "You feeling okay?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Sirius looked at him for a moment before nodding and returning to his conversation with the twins. Ginny who was sitting on Harry's other side asked, "So what's really bothering you?"

When Sirius and Harry had arrived in the kitchen, no one had really taken their seats yet but Misses Weasley had organized the seat arrangement quickly enough. On one side of the table was Remus followed by Sirius then Harry then Ginny then Tonks. Across from Tonks was Ron next to him was Hermione, sitting across from Ginny, and then Fred and George and Misses Weasley sat at the end of the table between Remus and the twins.

Harry was happy with sitting next to Sirius but he didn't really care for Ginny. When they were younger, she couldn't even talk to without turning red and running away. The crush she had harbored for him had been more annoying than anything else. In the last two years, she had come around and stopped being so shy but then she went over the top. Not to insult the little sister of one of his best friends, but Ginny was a slag.

Harry noticed when she had first started paying attention to other boys because it stopped feeling like someone was staring holes into the back of his head. But he also noticed that she and the other boys quickly moved from innocent touches to those of a more sexual nature. Ron was, of course, oblivious that his little sister had started dragging off blokes to the various broom closets around Hogwarts until recently. Harry thought the twins were aware of it but they didn't really care simply because their own philosophy was that they wanted to live how they wanted to and they weren't going to stop anyone else from pursuing the same thing.

So yes, when Ginny fluttered her long lashes at him and asked what was wrong with him after obviously eavesdropping on his short conversation with Sirius, Harry felt very uncomfortable.

Harry struggled for an answer, "Um…"

Ginny seemed to smirk a little as if she enjoyed his discomfort. She subtly stuck out her rather nice chest and said, "You can tell me."

Harry didn't know what to say to the promiscuous girl next to him and he unconsciously scooted back from her. Hermione seemed to sense his mounting distress.

She asked with a grin, "Hey, Ginny! Did you hear what happened to Tonks the other day?"

Ginny frowned at the interruption but was polite and turned and listened to Tonks as she told her about some ditzy guy making a fool out of himself trying to ask her out.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and met Hermione's eyes. Hermione smiled in amusement and winked at him.

He shook his head and smiled back. Bless her soul, Hermione was really a Godsend at times.

Harry, determined not to get stuck with Ginny, quickly finished his dinner before excusing himself.

He was about to make his way up to the bedroom he was sharing with Ron but decided against it as that would be the first place that someone would probably look for him, including Ginny. Instead he turned and made his way deeper into the first floor of the house. He found the drawing room.

It was covered in a thick layer of dust except the floor, which was strange, and the couch. The fireplace, that the couch was in front of, was lit and the flames burned merrily in their confinement. Not questioning it, Harry sat down on the leather couch.

It was very nice and instantly Harry felt himself relax into the soft and supple material. He sat there for a while looking into the fire when he heard footsteps. Harry sighed; he had really been enjoying his alone time and prepared himself for whoever walked around the corner.

When Hermione poked her head into the room, Harry relaxed. She smiled when she saw the tenseness leave his frame. She walked over and sat down next to him on the couch and didn't say anything for a moment, just mimicking him by looking into the fire.

"Did she scare you off?"

Harry looked over at Hermione. She slowly curled up before resting her head on her knees.

Harry smiled, "How you're able to figure me out like that always amazes me."

Hermione snorted, "You're easy to read. You're either brooding about something and I can guess what's got your knickers in a twist or you broadcast what you're going through on your face."

Harry frowned, "I don't brood…"

Hermione looked at him and quirked an eyebrow.

Harry ducked his head, "Okay… Maybe a little."

Hermione giggled, "It's not a bad thing. You just have to understand when you've got to let go of whatever's bothering you."

Harry nodded, "I'm working on that."

Hermione smiled, "I noticed.

Harry snorted, "You notice _everything_."

Hermione grinned, "I do, don't I?"

Harry laughed, "Yes. Yes, you do."

Silence reigned for a moment before Hermione asked, "So, Ginny did scare you off?"

Harry sighed, "Well, she makes me very…uncomfortable."

Hermione cocked her head, "Why's that?"

Harry looked at her and then at the floor and back to her and then the floor, "Promise you won't hit me for insulting your friend?"

Hermione drew an 'X' on her chest with her finger, "Cross my heart, hope to die."

Harry sighed, "Well…I don't really go for slags…"

It was silent for a moment and Harry slowly turned his head to see if she was really angry. Instead, Hermione let out a loud guffaw and broke down into a fit of giggles.

Slightly concerned about her reaction, Harry asked, "What's so funny?"

Hermione wiped her right eye as she calmed down, "Only you, Harry…"

She cleared her throat and explained, "I'm laughing because of how blunt and, unfortunately, accurate you are."

Harry nodded sagely as Hermione asked, "When did you notice?"

Harry answered, "Well, she had taken to following me a lot in third year except towards the end of the year when suddenly she was hanging out with other guys. To be frank, I was glad she had stopped stalking me but then I saw that she and the guys she was 'friendly' with would suddenly disappear for long periods of time.

After seeing her dot overlapping with the dots of several male dots in broom closets and empty classrooms since the end of third year on the Marauders' Map, I can deduce what she's probably doing if she and her latest 'friend' are nowhere to be found."

Hermione shook her head, "Unfortunately, that's kind of my fault."

Harry looked at her curiously and motioned for her to explain. Hermione complied and continued, "She came to me in third year asking how to get your attention. She was so painfully shy that I told her maybe she should hang out with other boys to gain some more confidence. Maybe she should consider dating someone else before trying to date you?

Well, she found that she liked hanging out with other boys and she found she _really_ liked doing 'things' with other boys. She learned how to approach boys but in the wrong sort of way."

Harry blinked, "So _you_ were giving _her_ advice on how to date _me_?"

Hermione shook her head, "Not date you. Just socialize with you. Harry, not to point out the obvious, but you do this 'running away' thing _a lot_."

Harry frowned, "Do I?"

Hermione nodded, "The girls who approach you just come on _way_ too strong and all the others are intimidated by you."

Harry scratched his head, "Intimidated?"

Hermione patted his cheek, "You can strike quite a pose when you brood."

Harry sighed and shook his head, "Girls are confusing…"

Hermione giggled, "It is known."

Harry turned to look at Hermione for a moment but was then dumbstruck. She was gazing into the fire again but appeared lost in thought. The way the light of the flames struck her, it brought out the different hues in her hair, blonde highlights and red undertones, and reflected off of her light brown eyes that made them look gold. She was stunning in that instant.

She seemed to sense his gaze and looked at him, "Yes?"

Whenever she asked a question, she always slightly tilted her head to the right and pouted, her lips slightly parted. In the fire light, with her sitting so close to him and her eyes and skin glowing from the flames, Harry found the image intensely erotic for some reason.

Suddenly Harry could hear Misses Weasley, "Hermione! Hermione dear, could you come here a moment!?"

Harry blinked and looked away. Hermione replied, "Yes, Misses Weasley!"

She turned back to him and said, "You should probably get to bed, you've had a long day."

Harry nodded, "Yeah, you're right."

Hermione stooped down in front of him and gave him a hug before hurrying off to help Misses Weasley. Harry made sure she had left before he groaned at his throbbing erection. He awkwardly adjusted himself before heading upstairs. That could have been extremely embarrassing…

Ron was already passed out and snoring. Harry quickly stripped to his undergarments before jumping under the covers. What a strange day…

**X 2 X**

Hermione closed her bedroom door behind her before sitting down on her large bed. She was alone in this bedroom as they had finished cleaning out another single bedroom today that Ginny was sleeping in. Hermione grinned and grabbed one of her pillows and hugged it tightly against her chest before flinging herself down to the mattress.

Today was a really, **really**, _**really**_ good day!

Not only was Harry here, but he also wasn't angry about not hearing about the Order sooner. Also, they wrestled today and for almost a whole _hour_, he had sat on top of her. Of course, it wasn't exactly _romantic_ being sat on but he was conscious of his weight and didn't just lay on her, not that she would have minded, but he did touch her for almost an entire _hour_.

Hermione already knew that if another girl had tried that with him, Harry would have balked at the idea and probably ran away. But no, instead not only did they have a very fun (and in her opinion, flirtatious) wrestling match, but it ended up with rather intimate places of their bodies being in close proximity to one another.

Hermione blushed as she remembered when his hand had accidently pressed against her rear. He immediately removed it and tried to act like it didn't happen, but it did.

Then Misses Weasley had to go and ruin it! Appropriate her ass! She practically bragged about what a whore she was to Hermione and Ginny last year!

Frankly, the woman was as subtle as a bull in a china shop.

Her mediocre "matchmaking skills" left Hermione ill. Really, whatever made that woman think that she was interested in her lazy son?

Except the atrocious table manners, utter laziness, jealousy issues, and blatant insensitivity, there was nothing really wrong with him (And, _of_ _course_, she wasn't being sarcastic). Sure, some girls liked a fixer-upper but Hermione wasn't some girls.

That last moment, when they had been in the drawing room sitting on the couch, Hermione just wanted to jump Harry then and there. The look on his face had been frightening but also very arousing. He looked absolutely predatory in that moment and his eyes seemed to reflect the flames. Hermione had felt like she was about to melt.

She just knew, another minute, and they would have…kissed…maybe?

Hermione didn't know…_but there had been something there!_ But of course, Molly had to go and ruin it again! It was like she had a radar for hormones so she'd know just when to interrupt!

Hermione's blood started to boil again thinking about Misses Weasley.

How _dare_ she try and pair up Harry with her **slag** of a daughter!? Hermione, of course, felt slightly guilty that this was her friend she was thinking of and it was only because of her advice that the young girl had ended up like that but **still**! Hermione wasn't going to just _let_ Ginny have _her_ way with **Harry**! Over her cold, dead, scratched up corpse!

Hermione sighed…

She didn't even remember when she had become so possessive of Harry or when her feelings of friendship had deepened. All she knew was that sometime last year, she found out Harry had a crush on Cho Chang. The vile names and adjectives that went through her mind to describe the rather nice girl who had never wronged Hermione had shocked her.

While she would probably never really know when she became possessive of Harry, Hermione could probably hazard a guess as to when she started to feel something other than friendship for her dearest friend.

The midnight ride on Buckbeak to save Sirius.

Hermione still remembered her initial terror that turned into a kind of giddiness as she locked her arms around Harry and held him close. His joy of flying had been…intoxicating. The look of pure exhilaration on his face coupled with the wind blowing through his hair in the light of the full moon had been the turning point most likely.

Hermione groaned.

She wished that Harry would just get his head out of his ass already! She was at her wit's end! Just because she was a girl didn't mean she didn't have hormones! If he didn't hurry up then she would have to take the first step!

…Or…she would try to at least…

She sighed, 'Where's that Gryffindor courage when you need it, Granger?'

Hermione turned off the lights in her room before returning to her bed and curling up under the covers… Today was still a success in her book but if only they hadn't been interrupted in that last moment. Dreams of 'what if' would no doubt plague her subconscious tonight.

She was looking forward to it.


	4. Chapter 4

_A.N.: So, this is my first author's note and I just wanted to say thank you to those people who reviewed. This is actually a rewrite of my story __**Solum**__. This story, when first written, was very childish with poor grammar, writing, and a plot and setting full of massive holes. I may have spent half an hour thinking everything out for its first run. In this new edition, I must have spent a number of hours (if not days) simply staring at the wall, willing ideas to come to me. Thankfully, my wish was granted and now I have literal __**pages**__ of handwritten documents filled with just backstory, setting information, and a rough storyline. It's now just up to my fingers to connect the dots and bring this story to life. With that said, I present the third chapter of __**Gan 'Edhen.**_

_ On a final note, I should warn people that the female Weasleys aren't exactly my favorite characters. I don't mean to bash in the least but I'm writing them from the perspective of teenagers (and an adult) full of piss and vinegar. I've also taken the liberty of making Harry a bit more realistic. Honestly, the bitchy brooder is just annoying. I would think someone who has experienced as much as him would be a bit more mature and __**aware**__. Lastly, this story will be __**graphic **__(just informing you if you didn't pick that up from the last chapter). I won't write sex scenes but there will be sexual content and blood and gore and all the good stuff!_

_ You have been warned._

**Gan 'Edhen**

**Last Time:**

_**Hermione turned off the lights in her room before returning to her bed and curling up under the covers… Today was still a success in her book but if only they hadn't been interrupted in that last moment. Dreams of 'what if' would no doubt plague her subconscious tonight.**_

_** She was looking forward to it.**_

**Chapter 3: Learnings, Lockets, and Legilimens**

Harry awoke with a start.

He breathed deeply for a moment before swallowing and sighing. That same dream again. Drowning every time before waking up was annoying but the real issue was the warning of that white crystal.

He looked across the room to the other bed and saw, and heard, Ron sleeping. His snoring was ridiculous, as always. Harry cringed, was it bad that when he first heard of "the one who harbors sloth and envy," that he thought of Ron? At the same time, it was very true.

Harry could remember several instances where Ron would become jealous of others, mostly their dorm mates in Hogwarts, when they received something from home that was a bit…out of his family's financial reach.

Harry could understand this feeling as he had grown up in a household where he was left wanting for several things and he had always felt jealous when Dudley received them instead. Mostly it was immaterial things. Harry had wanted to be loved by his family and he had wanted to not feel unwanted. He would have also liked a proper room when he was younger and maybe some clothes of his own but it was the first two he had truly desired more than anything.

Ron though… Well…the Weasleys were not…poor, but their budget was indeed stretched. Ron's father, Arthur Weasley, was the only source of income in their rather large family as Misses Weasley was a housewife. Mister Weasley made a respectable amount but then you had to divide that between two adults and, count them, one, two, three, four, five, six, _seven_ children.

Needless to say, the Weasley family couldn't afford the best clothes or the best toys or the best house or the best of anything really. There was just no money left over to save up after dividing that one income between nine mouths.

So, yes, Ron had issues about others having better things than him. Harry supposed that that was one reason that they got on so well. Excluding his uniform, school supplies, and broomsticks, Harry had never had a single new thing in his life. Everything else was hand-me-downs from the Dursleys.

Ron also had issues with attention. Once again, not surprising considering he grew up with six siblings and a stay-at-home mother and a workaholic father. His mother was busy cooking and cleaning and breaking up fights and his father was just too tired when he finally got home. It didn't help that all his siblings had a one up on Ron.

His oldest brother, Bill, was a successful Curse Breaker at Gringotts, the wizard bank run by goblins, and he spent most of his time raiding old wizard tombs in Egypt.

His second oldest brother, Charlie, was a dragon keeper who was up in Romania caring for dragons on the dragon reserve up there.

His third oldest brother, Percy, was incredibly smart and had received amazing marks on his O.W.L.'s and his N.E.W.T.'s and was likely to go far in whatever he chose to do.

The twins were well liked by many people and were renowned for their unique inventions and pranks. Also, neither of their parents or any of their siblings knew that they also were planning on opening a joke shop, after graduating, with the thousand galleons Harry had invested into them from the winnings with the Triwizard Tournament.

And finally, Ginny was the youngest and also the only girl so she already had a special place reserved for her parents attention.

Compared to the rest of them, Ron was so…unimpressive.

His three oldest brothers had all gained some kind of position at Hogwarts; prefect, head boy, Quidditch captain.

The twins, once again, were well known for their pranks and were also some of the best beaters Hogwarts had ever seen.

Ginny…well…she was the youngest, the only girl, received better marks than Ron, was popular with the opposite sex, and it was only a matter of time before she did something to further distinguish herself in the Weasley clan.

With all his siblings doing all these amazing things and really outshining him, Ron really had to fight for attention. He probably acted the way he did because it was the only way to get any attention from his parents with all his siblings surpassing him. So he was lazy and a glutton and his things were always a mess and he was pigheaded and more than a little dim.

Negative attention was better than no attention at all.

His jealousy over people who got more attention than him had been a...point of conflict between Harry and Ron before. The most recent being when Ron had just cut him out of his life and hung him out to dry last year when Harry's name came out of the Goblet of Fire. Ron had refused to believe Harry when he had told Ron that he hadn't put his name in the cup.

It wasn't something that Harry was likely to forget for a long time, if ever.

It was one reason why if someone asked Harry who his best friend of all time was, he would answer that it was Hermione. Hermione had always been there for him and even when she did something that made him mad, like send his brand new Firebolt from an unnamed person while there was a supposed mass murderer out to get him (turned out to be Sirius who sent it after all) to Flitwick to get tested for curses, she still had the best intentions for him. He smiled thinking about all of her little quirks before he turned he thought back to Ron.

The crystal had told him, once again, that the one who harbors sloth and envy would choke his potential if he took him along to this Edhen place. That was a scary thought. He sighed and considered confronting Sirius about this whole thing just to see if this was all real or if he just had a hyperactive imagination.

Harry shook his head.

Better to wait a while longer before doing that. After all, he had the whole summer. And besides, this Daughter of Beauty person was still getting him to draw blanks. He didn't know what that was code for… The one who harbors sloth and envy was kind of obvious. It was why Harry recognized that it was Ron. He just hoped (prayed really) that it wasn't Ginny that was being talked about.

Harry really, _really_ didn't want any of _her_ tenderness making him stronger.

He decided to get up and go downstairs to find something to eat. He realized that no one ever enlarged his trunk last night and groaned before putting on the pants and shirt that he wore yesterday.

He grabbed his matchbox sized trunk and headed downstairs.

Harry walked into the kitchen and saw that Lupin was there. He was reading the morning paper and sipping tea. He looked up at Harry and smiled, "Morning, Harry."

Harry smiled back, "Morning, Professor."

Remus sighed, "When are you going to stop calling me?"

Harry shrugged, "I dunno. One of these days."

Remus shook his head and went back to his paper.

Harry put his trunk on the table and asked, "Could you enlarge that and maybe put a featherweight charm on it as well."

Remus looked over his paper and rapped himself on the head, "I'm so sorry. I totally forgot about your trunk."

Harry shook his head and smiled, "No worries."

Lupin took out his wand and tapped the trunk once and it resumed its normal size before tapping it again to place the featherweight charm on it.

Harry nodded, "Thanks! Um…do you know where the shower is?"

Remus pointed up, "Upstairs, second floor, last door on the left."

Harry thanked Remus again and was about to go upstairs and put his trunk away before taking a shower when a thought occurred to him. Maybe Lupin would know what Daughter of Beauty could mean…

Harry said, "You know, I heard this riddle the other day…from one of my…classmates…in a letter and it's just been bugging me."

Remus motioned, "Go on."

Harry complied, "They said that I know who this is. Then they asked who is the Daughter of Beauty?"

Lupin quirked an eyebrow, "You know this Daughter of Beauty personally?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah! But I can't figure out who it is."

Remus scratched his chin, "Go take a shower. I'll think on what it could mean."

Harry did as Remus instructed and hurried upstairs with his rather light trunk. He entered his room and saw Ron was still asleep. Harry quickly took out a new change of clothes and made his way to the bathroom. Thankfully, it seemed everyone else was still asleep and the bathroom was unoccupied.

The bathroom was a little antiquated in decoration but it did have a shower. Harry also found the towels in a cabinet inside the bathroom. Harry quickly jumped inside the shower and started to get cleaned. He noticed that there was a bar of soap and also a bottle of conditioner, shampoo, body wash, shaving cream, and a pink razor. From the rather modern design of the liquid cleanser bottles, the shaving cream, and pink razor, he could deduce that they were Hermione's.

While standing under the hot water, Harry was kind of curious why Hermione would need a razor…until he remembered that a lot of girls preferred to shave their arms, legs, and pretty much anything else they fancied for that matter. His eyes also settled on the shampoo and conditioner. Out of curiosity he picked them up and saw that they were indeed vanilla scent. That explained why Hermione's hair smelled so good.

Harry usually used Dudley's shampoo and body wash but since he didn't really have anything here and he didn't want to use what looked like a communal soap bar, Harry decided that using just a _tiny_ bit of Hermione's wash wouldn't hurt anyone.

So Harry quickly washed and got out of the shower smelling much better than when he entered. He dressed and dropped his dirty clothes and used towel in his bedroom before heading back downstairs.

Remus was still siting their alone, reading his paper, except he had apparently made himself some toast while Harry took his shower. He looked up when he heard Harry enter. Lupin the said, "I think I figured it out."

Harry asked, "Really? Who is it?"

Remus folded his paper and cleared his throat, "Well, I have a two guesses which will narrow it down for you and a possible answer.

Guess number one: You know a girl who has a very attractive mother."

Harry shook his head, smiling as that had been one possibility he had thought of, "Don't really know any of my classmates' mothers except for Misses Weasley and not to be rude but…"

Remus nodded, understanding what Harry implied, "Guess number two: You know a girl who is very attractive."

Harry's smile widened, another one of his own guesses, and shrugged, "Yeah, I guess, but there are a lot of attractive girls at Hogwarts."

Remus smirked, "And my answer to your riddle, which I find to fit the best, is Hermione."

Harry scrunched up his eyebrows, "Hermione…?"

When he thought about it, Harry had to admit his very good friend was indeed very pretty but…he had never really thought about her that way… Not until last night anyway, but that was **totally**…_accidental_…?

Remus went on to explain his reason, "The original Hermione was the daughter of the Greek king Menelaus and his wife Helen. Helen was supposed to be the most beautiful woman in the world. Ergo, Hermione is the Daughter of Beauty."

Harry blinked… Well that made sense.

And as if summoned, Hermione walked into the kitchen. She covered a yawn and bade them, "Good morning."

Remus and Harry responded in kind.

Hermione walked up to Harry and gave him a hug, Harry noted that she was doing that a lot recently, and she paused for a moment. She put her nose into his shirt and sniffed. She looked at him and asked, "Did you use my body wash?"

Harry's face turned red, "No…"

She glared up at him and grabbed his collar. She surprised him and pulled down. Harry leaned forward and Hermione put her nose in his hair as well. She pushed him away, "You _have_ been using my stuff!"

Harry held up his hands in mercy, "Sorry! I didn't have anything else! …And I didn't want to use the nasty looking soap…"

Hermione rolled her eyes and went over to the counter to start making her own breakfast, "Very well. I guess I don't care as long as you don't mind smelling like a girl."

Harry frowned and covertly lifted his shirt and sniffed, "I thought it smelled nice…"

Unseen by him or Remus, Hermione smiled as a light blush tinged her cheeks.

Hermione was nice enough to make some toast for both her and Harry. They sat at the table and made small talk for maybe half an hour. Harry even informed Hermione that he had actually finished his summer homework and she was very pleased. She offered to look it over for him later and he accepted.

Misses Weasley was the next to come downstairs and she greeted them warmly before starting to make breakfast. Over the course of the next half hour, the residents of the house started to trickle down one by one. As Misses Weasley was putting the finishing touches on breakfast, she asked, "Hermione, could you please go get Ronald? Otherwise he'll sleep until noon."

Hermione nodded and went about her assigned task with little enthusiasm.

She then turned to Harry and Ginny and asked, "Could you two set the table?"

Harry and Ginny complied and went into the pantry to retrieve the silverware and dishes necessary for breakfast. As they stacked the plates and piled the utensils, Ginny said, "You never told me what was bugging you last night."

Harry looked up at her from his kneeled position on the floor as he reached for more knives. Observing her now, Harry was well aware of how pretty Ginny was. She was gorgeous to be honest.

Her long hair was a dark red reminiscent of blood and her sun tanned skin had a stripe of freckles across the bridge of her nose. Her lips were pouty and a dark shade of pink and her eyes were a dark reflective brown, almost black, that burned with an inner fire. And on top of that, for her age, she was particularly voluptuous.

But Harry still remembered the shy, timid girl who could barely speak to him, never mind flirt.

She walked forward and put her hand on his shoulder before moving it in small, slow circles, "You know you can tell me, right?"

This new Ginny, who was so confident and, in his opinion, forward intimidated him more than anything. Harry never really liked being touched and really the only persons he made physical contact with on a regular basis were Hermione, Ron, Misses Weasley whenever she saw him after a long period of time, and Sirius.

Harry shrugged off her hand, "It's fine. Um…Hermione helped me figure it out!"

Ginny gave him a smile that seemed a bit tight around the edges, "Well, just know that next time if anything is bothering you, you can come to me."

Harry nodded, "I'll keep that in mind."

He then quickly gathered up the dishes they had gather and hurried out of the pantry. When he entered the kitchen, he saw that Hermione had come back with Ron in tow. Ron's red hair was an absolute mess and his blue eyes were still clouded with sleep. Harry worked quickly and set down the serving dishes and plates before sitting on next to Hermione, Ron being on her other side.

The seat next to Harry was still empty and it looked like Ginny intended to sit there until Sirius came bounding into the room with excessive enthusiasm, "Good morning, all!"

He immediately claimed the seat next to Harry, "What's on the menu today, pup?"

Harry, thankful for the little things, looked over and saw what Misses Weasley was making, "Eggs, bacon, toast, and pancakes."

Sirius rubbed his stomach, "Mmmm! Begs and achin' sound bloody fantastic right now!"

Misses Weasley of course admonished Sirius, "Sirius! Mind your language! There are children here!"

Sirius snorted, "Oh, please! I'm a grown man and these 'children' are in the golden years of their lives! They probably spout more filth before seven o'clock in the morning than an average adult says all day… Ain't that right, boys?"

The twins agreed, "Here, here!"

Sirius cackled as Molly scolded, "Fred, George, you're supposed to be responsible adults! Think about the example you're setting for Ron and Ginny!"

Twin number one replied, "Oh, dear me! We're so-…"

Twin number two continued, "…terribly sorry, mother! What bad-…"

"…boys we are! We're so ashamed! We must-…"

"…hide ourselves from the world! Oh woe is us!"

With that said, the twins disappeared in a duet of _cracks_.

Molly shook her head, "Those boys. They use magic whenever they can now! I have half a mind to take them over my knee."

Fred and George then _popped_ back.

"Sorry, mum! We seemed to-…"

"…have forgotten! May we please-…"

"…be excused from the table?"

Misses Weasley sighed, "Just sit and eat your breakfast."

The twins grinned and resumed their seats.

Harry resumed talked with Hermione as they ate breakfast. Laughs and smiles were exchanged and breakfast passed rather quickly. As Harry was finishing up, there was a rushing sound and out of the kitchen fireplace came Mister Weasley.

He dusted himself off and greeted everyone, "Good morning, family! Decided to stop by for a quick bite before going to work."

Arthur Weasley was an older man with balding, greying red hair. He was rather tall, no doubt the origin of the Ron's and the twins' stature, but also possessed a slightly rounded and protruding stomach. He was also slightly obsessive about muggles and modern technology. He had even enchanted an old car to fly. All in all, Harry liked Mister Weasley's jovial nature and upbeat personality.

Unfortunately, Mister Weasley was only there for a few moments before leaving with toast and bacon wrapped in a napkin.

As soon as Arthur disappeared into the fireplace, Misses Weasley quickly drafted everyone, including Sirius and Remus, into cleaning the kitchen. After the kitchen was clean, Molly immediately moved onto the rooms of the house which had yet to be fully cleaned. She told them they would finish the rest of the drawing room today.

Harry suddenly understood that was why the floor in the drawing had been clean while everything, excluding the couch, had been covered in dust. Most likely someone cleaned the couch just so they could sit down when done with it. Remus apologized for not being able to help but he needed to run an errand for Dumbledore.

When Misses Weasley turned her gaze onto Sirius, he grinned and said, "I have preparations that need to be made. I've already screened the drawing room for valuable items. Feel free to throw everything else away."

Molly's face burned crimson and she huffed after Sirius left the room, "That Sirius Black! Absolutely no sense of responsibility whatsoever!"

Harry wanted to defend his godfather but held his tongue. Obviously Misses Weasley and Sirius had had conflicts in the past. It wasn't his place to intervene.

So they marched to the drawing room and after being assigned sections of the room and a strict reminder of no magic, Misses Weasley started scouting the room for "dark" objects.

Harry had been assigned a glass case of antique looking objects. He sighed but held his duster at the ready and started. A few moments later, he came across a silver locket. It had emblazoned on it a single "S" on both sides. Harry felt a sense of familiarity about the locket that he just couldn't place. After covertly making sure that Misses Weasley was busy (she was currently scolding the twins for trying to sneak off with paralyzed doxies, that they were supposed to be getting rid, that had been living in the thick velvet curtain in the room) Harry pocketed the strange locket.

A moment later, Misses Weasley started searching the glass case for anything dangerous. She took most of the items and trashed them, leaving only a few pictures in their places. Harry felt the locket in his pants pocket and continued cleaning.

After a few hours, they stopped cleaning to eat lunch. They cleaned for another two hours after that before being released by Misses Weasley. The twins headed back upstairs with their doxy loot they had been able to filch after being caught by their mother the first time while the rest stayed downstairs and relaxed in the newly cleaned drawing room.

After some much needed downtime, Ron started to get bored and asked anyone if they wanted to play chess. Ginny said she would but when Ron started to get up to retrieve his chess set, Harry volunteered to get it for them and raced out of the room before anyone could say otherwise.

Once he was safely upstairs, Harry let out a sigh of relief and pulled the locket out of his pocket. The feeling of familiarity hadn't gone away but he also had a major headache that had started after he first picked up the locket. Harry dropped to the floor and rolled back the rug in the room and felt the floor for any loose floorboards. Finding one, he pried it up and quickly stashed the locket. It gleamed up at him from the darkness innocently before Harry closed it up and rolled the rug back over it.

Feeling much lighter all of a sudden, Harry rummaged through Ron's stuff and found the chess set. He hurried back downstairs to the drawing room.

When he walked into the room, Ron started to rib him, "Finally! I thought you were making a new chessboard or something!"

Harry grinned, "Sorry, mate."

So they spent an hour switching off and playing chess before Ginny suggested Exploding Snap. They agreed and Ginny said she would get the cards. No one wanted Harry getting lost.

Hermione and Ron laughed at Harry's expense and Harry only shrugged.

Exploding Snap was a lot more fast paced and entertaining than chess and they spent the rest of the afternoon playing. Misses Weasley's voice rung out from the kitchen, "Dinner will be ready in ten minutes!"

Hearing this, they put away the playing cards and slowly made their way to the kitchen. They immediately went about setting the table and helping Misses Weasley with plating the food. Soon after the last plate of food touched the table, Sirius, Remus, and the twins reappeared. And a few moments after they showed up, Arthur came through the fireplace followed by Tonks and Bill Weasley a few moments later.

Bill had apparently taken up a desk job at Gringotts in order to better serve the Order of the Phoenix in the upcoming fight against Voldemort.

Like most of his brothers, Bill was very tall but he was also very broad. He had this effortless kind of confidence about him that just drew people in. His laid back attitude led to most people liking him. His style of dress was…very punk rock.

He wore black dragon hide pants and matching knee length boots of the same style and material with several silver buckles. He also wore a long sleeved, tattered grey shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He also wore several different necklaces, a dragon fang earing, his copper colored hair was pulled back into a sloppy ponytail, and his facial hair was limited to a soul patch.

Of course, he hid most of this beneath a pair of black robes but as soon as he was out of the fireplace, they were discarded and he proudly showed off his attire.

After they had all sat down, loud conversation began and boisterous laughter filled the room. It was, sadly, interrupted.

Misses Weasley mentioned how it was like the family was back together again and all they were missing was Charlie and…Percy.

She immediately started sobbing loudly and Arthur pulled her away from the table to comfort her. Harry, extremely curious about this turn of events, asked Ron.

Ron seethed, "Towards the beginning of summer, Percy came home and started bragging about getting picked as Junior Assistant for the Minister of Magic. He expected dad and mum to be really proud and everything but dad blew up at him.

Dad said that Fudge only picked Percy because he wanted to use Percy to spy on us and Dumbledore. Percy started insulting dad and saying it's because of him that Percy had to work so hard to get anywhere. Said that dad's been holding him back. He even started to insult Dumbledore and called you a nut before saying he knew who to believe in. He packed his stuff and moved out later that night.

Mum's been an absolutely wreck ever since. She's sent him letters, flooed him, and even went to visit him but he just won't see her. And dad refuses to even think about trying to talk to him after what he said. As far as I know, dad and him just ignore each other if they run into one another at the Ministry."

Harry's eyebrows rose almost to his hairline. To think that someone could do that to their parents was astounding.

Misses Weasley finally came back looking much better and immediately started cleaning the kitchen. Soon she was shooing the teenagers upstairs and telling them that there was going to be an Order meeting.

Sirius called out, "Harry, you're staying."

Harry looked back and blinked at Sirius. Misses Weasley immediately spun around, "No he is **not**!

He's a _child_ and has no place here!"

Harry immediately felt something rise up in his chest. It was pure defiance that filled in his throat, wanting to lash out. Harry controlled it though. If he screamed and cried, he would only prove her point.

Besides, Sirius did it for him just fine, "Oh, _please_! A child!? He's done things wizards twice his age would have died doing **and** survived!"

Misses Weasley screamed back, "He was _forced_ into those circumstances! And how would **you** know anything about that!? _**You weren't there for most of it!**_"

Almost immediately, Misses Weasley recoiled, realizing what she said only after it left her lips. A deathly silence descended upon the kitchen and Harry didn't dare breathe.

Sirius finally spoke, "_Harry stays_."

The tone in which he spoke left no room for argument and Misses Weasley could only grit her teeth, knowing she had gone too far.

Seeing their mother's acceptance, the twins immediately jumped up, protesting that they were fully grown wizards and adults in the eyes of the law. Ron and Hermione also claimed that they might as well as stay as Harry would tell them anyway and Ginny jumped on that as well.

Misses Weasley shouted, "Fine! You can all stay! Except you, Ginny! I don't care what you say, you're **not** staying!"

Ginny grumbled as she left, "Hermione will tell me anyway…"

Molly only glared after her.

She turned and motioned to Sirius, "Very well! Tell them what's happening! But, only a very vague summary!"

Sirius quirked an eyebrow, "Molly, I don't think you understand what I'm saying. I intend on telling Harry _everything_."

Misses Weasley gaped at him, "If you do that, you might as well induct him into the Order!"

Harry spoke up for the first time in five minutes, "I'm fine with that."

Misses Weasley burned red, "No! No! No! I will not stand for this! They are still children! They will not be _exposed_ to everything we're trying to **protect** them from!"

Sirius replied calmly as he got up from his seat and put his hand on Harry's shoulder, "Then excuse your children from the room and the adults can talk."

Molly's gaze was murderous before she fumed, "Fine! We'll wait for Dumbledore. But the rest of you…_**OUT!**_"

Ron immediately ducked out of the room and the twins seethed as they stalked out of the room. Hermione still stood there though. Molly, raised an eyebrow, and prompted Hermione to speak. Hermione obliged, "I mean no disrespect, Misses Weasley, but you're not my mother. I'm mature enough to stay here and not treat this like some kind of a game."

Misses Weasley's eyes narrowed, "Be that as it may, in the absence of your parents, I will act in a way I think they would treat you. And I _know_ that your parents would not want you involved in a _**war**_."

Harry had never seen such venom in Hermione's eyes as he did in that moment. It was a look of pure loathing and disgust. Nonetheless, she turned on her heel and walked out without a word. The door shut silently behind her.

Even Misses Weasley somehow seemed a bit disconcerted by Hermione's poisonous look. She shook it off though and glared at Sirius one last time before sitting across the kitchen from him.

Sirius guided Harry back to their seats and they sat in silence. Remus quickly assumed the seat on Harry's other side and the three of them presented a united and intimidating front. Over the next half hour, various other Order members arrived including Kingsley, Moody, the other people who had escorted Harry, and various other people Harry didn't recognize. Some looked at Harry curiously but didn't do much else.

Without meaning to, Kingsley relit a very short fuse with an innocent and friendly, "Staying for the meeting, Harry?"

Misses Weasley jumped up and slammed her hands on the table, "_**He is not!**_"

The quiet conversation throughout the kitchen instantly died as Order members looked at Molly curiously. They waited for whatever was to followed and weren't disappointed when Sirius stood up slowly.

Sirius sighed, "Didn't we just settle this?"

Molly replied heatedly, "Only until Dumbledore gets here!"

"Very well, then why are you bringing this up?"

"Because you're irresponsible and don't realize Harry is still a child!"

Harry instantly felt a flush cover his face and again, a hot pressure filled his throat as he fought the desire to jump up. Remus, sensing Harry's anger, placed his hand on the younger male's shoulder.

Sirius snorted, "No, what you fail to realize is that Harry has done more to combat the return of You-Know-Who than any single person in this Order has over these last few years!"

Misses Weasley hissed, "All you see him as is James' double."

A choking pressure descended upon the room as Sirius spoke in a quiet and tightly controlled voice, "_Harry is Harry_. There's no mistaking him for _James_ in the least. And how _**dare**_ you try to turn the tables with something _underhanded_ like that…"

Rage radiated off of Sirius as he finally lost his temper, "And why the **fuck** is a _**housewife**_ here in the _first_ _place_!? You wanna say **Harry** doesn't have a place here!? **He's** the _reason_ we're here _**at all**_! What have you done!? _Cooked and clean and bitched and moaned!_"

Arthur stood up, "That's uncalled for, Sirius!"

Sirius rolled his eyes, "C'mon! We're all thinking it! I'm just the one who has the balls to say it!"

Molly refuted, "Well, **someone** has to be responsible in this house or you'd just let it fall down around our ears!"

Sirius yelled back, "Yes! Yes, I would because this house is nothing more than an ugly stain on the face of existence! But that does not change the fact that this is **my** house and **you** just got up and started _ordering_ us all about like _children _all the while never asking for _my_ permission to start stripping **my** house of anything and everything **you** consider inappropriate! _No one asked you to do any of that!_"

Molly was speechless for a moment as her eyes took in the subtle nods and body language of others agreeing with Sirius' thoughts.

Molly stuttered, "W-well I just assumed tha-…"

Sirius slammed his hands on the table, "And that's just it! You _assume_! You think everyone here just agrees with what you're saying and just go ahead with whatever you think is **necessary**! Even _Dumbledore_ asks what we think before he goes ahead with one of his schemes but _you_ just _flatten_ everyone in your way! It seems like everyone is a child in comparison to your all and encompassing wisdom of _household charms_!"

Some members of the Order tried and failed to stifle snickers.

Molly's face blazed with embarrassment and she shouted back, "This doesn't change that **Harry** is a _child_ that shouldn't be exposed to _**war**_!"

Sirius was about to launch his rebuttal when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked down and saw Harry grabbing his shoulder. Sirius, understanding the unspoken message sat down, as Harry shrugged off Remus' hand and stood up.

Harry quietly and calmly said, "Misses Weasley…"

Molly, unsure about the very calm teenager in front of her, replied, "Yes, dear?"

Harry cleared his throat, "I would like to remind you of some key facts.

It was me…who destroyed Voldemort," gasps filled the room, "during his first rise. It was me who was orphaned after my parents were murdered. It was me who grew up in an _abusive_ home. It was me…who thought his parents were drunks and drug addicts until Hagrid came to tell me about the Wizarding World."

Harry looked around and saw the horrified looks on the faces of the Order, "In my first year, after Ron made Hermione burst into tears from bullying her, Ron and I went to save her when a troll got into the castle. The troll had cornered her in a bathroom and we tried to distract the troll but it was focused on Hermione. So, I jumped on the troll's back and Ron finally got his head out of his ass and knocked the troll out with its own club.

After that incident, Hermione, Ron, and I figured out that Dumbledore was hiding the Sorcerer's Stone in the third floor corridor…well…Hermione figured it out really. So, when Dumbledore was tricked into leaving the castle and when McGonagall practically called us stupid for thinking the stone was in danger, it was Hermione, Ron, and me who attempted to steal the stone before Voldemort," more gasps, "could. We passed the defenses but Hermione took Ron, who had been injured, back and went for help. I was left alone and it was me who faced Quirrell and Voldemort by myself. It was me who fought Quirrell and Voldemort's spirit. It was me who killed Quirrell and delayed Voldemort's rise to power."

Harry noticed the looks of shock on the faces around the room when they heard he had killed Quirrell. He continued, "In my second year, Lucius Malfoy smuggled a dangerous artifact into Hogwarts by placing it in Ginny's belongings. The diary possessed the memory of Tom Riddle, a handsome and well liked Hogwarts student who would later grow up to become the Dark Lord Voldemort," the gasps still rung out as if he had said a nasty curse. "Tom possessed Ginny and through her petrified several Hogwarts students using an ancient basilisk sealed under the school by Salazar Slytherin in the Chamber of Secrets. Hermione was one of the petrified students.

When Tom had grown strong enough to break free from Ginny, he took her to the Chamber to kill her so that he could absorb the rest of her life force. Gilderoy Lockhart, the Defense professor of the time, Ron, and I journeyed down into the Chamber to rescue Ginny. Lockhart, who we forced to come with us, then stole Ron's broken wand and tried to obliviate us. Ron's wand backfired and Lockhart wiped his own mind and collapsed the tunnel leading to the Chamber. I continued on alone and met Tom in the Chamber.

He explained there who he was and how he had manipulated Ginny and tried to kill the muggleborns in Hogwarts. Then Tom sent the basilisk after me and, only thanks to Fawkes' intervention, the basilisk was blinded. After pulling Gryffindor's sword out of the Sorting Hat, I then proceeded to battle the basilisk.

It was me who killed the basilisk. It was me who was poisoned by the basilisk and only because Fawkes' tears I survived. It was me who destroyed the diary of Tom Riddle with the fang I pulled out of my arm. It was me who saved Ginny and brought her back alive."

Misses Weasley had started tearing up at some point, obviously remembering how scared she had been for her daughter.

"In my third year, I was told that I had a dangerous mass murderer after me. After several 'close calls,' Sirius kidnapped Ron to get Pettigrew. I almost killed Sirius before Professor Lupin showed up and stopped me. He explained how the Marauder's' Map had shown Pettigrew's name and said the map never lied. Snape showed up at some point and after going through a whole death, revenge, and downright depressing spiel, I incapacitated the grease stain and learnt more about my parents in that hour than I ever had before in my life.

I also convinced Sirius and Remus to spare Pettigrew so that he could be tried and Sirius set free. And we almost did it…except Professor Lupin forgot his wolfsbane potion. He transformed, Pettigrew got away, and Sirius was injured. After Lupin ran off into the woods, I ran after Sirius. To cut a long story short, it was me who drove back a _hoard_, not a group, a _hoard_ of dementors numbering close to a hundred. It was me and Hermione who saved Sirius from having his soul sucked out of him later that night when he was captured."

Awe and disbelief were prevalent emotions throughout the room.

"In my fourth year, I was entered into a deadly tournament designed for older and more accomplished wizards against my will. I outflew a dragon, rescued two girls from grindylows and mermen, and navigated a massive maze. On top of that, I not only competed in that tournament, I kicked some _ass_! I was outperforming all the other champions in at least one aspect during each task. And it was me and Cedric holding the cup in the end."

Harry voice dropped low before beginning to rise, "And…it was me…who watched…as Cedric was _murdered_. It was me…who watched…as _Voldemort_ was **reborn**. And it was **me** who was _tortured_! _It was me who fought him!_ **And it was me who escaped and let everyone know **_**he**_** was back!**

_**No one else! IT! WAS! ME!**_"

Harry huffed as the rest of the Order looked at him in horror. He caught his breath before speaking directly to Misses Weasley in a low steady voice, "I was only a child for a short amount of time. A child…would not have survived what I've lived through. If you truly care about me the way you claim to, you will recognize what I have done and stop trying to keep me in the dark.

It's pointless. In the end, I'm usually involved and I generally mess it up before fixing it because information is always being withheld until the last minute. So have a little faith and trust me, okay?"

Harry resumed his seat and tried to remain cool under the intense gazes of the Order members. A slow, patronizing applause filled the room.

Severus Snape, Hogwarts' Potions Professor and Death Eater spy for the Order, stood in the corner clapping. He was very pale with a long hooked nose. His hair was black, greasy, and lank and his were also black but cold and like pits of darkness. His long billowing black robes gave him the appearance of an overgrown bat.

The dark man drawled, "Bravo… Bravo indeed. It seems, Potter, that your arrogance knows no bounds like your fool of a father."

No one spoke, not even Sirius. They only waited for Harry's response.

Harry nonchalantly put his feet up on the table and said, "Piss off."

Some intakes of breathe could be heard and Snape narrowed his eyes, "What did you say?"

Harry glanced at him, "I said 'Piss off.' As in, leave me alone. As in, go haunt some other person's house. As in, you're a greasy git. As in, I don't understand why anyone ever let _you_ become a teacher. As in, it's summer vacation…until the start of the school year, you're just an overgrown oil spill."

Complete and total silence dominated the room. It was only broken when Moody muttered, "By thunder, I think boy's balls just dropped…"

Laughter filled the room and Snape's pale face burned crimson in the low light and he made for his wand but found Remus had crossed the room extremely fast, anticipating Snape's response, and held the tip of his wand to Snape's throat.

Remus said, "Let it go, Severus. Because, I swear, I will do it if you so much as hurt a hair on Harry's head."

Slowly, Severus moved his arm away from his wand and calmed down. His glare was glacial though and stayed focused on Harry.

"There seems to have been much excitement tonight."

Everyone looked to the head of the room and found Dumbledore had appeared while the rest of them had been focusing on Snape. Molly instantly jumped to her feet, "Headmaster, could you please talk some sense into them! Harry's not…old enough to be here just yet!"

Harry only shook his head; after all that and she was still trying to get him to leave? Unbelievable…

Dumbledore calmed Molly with a placating hand and said, "I witnessed most, if not all, of what happened tonight."

Turning to Sirius he said, "I cannot condone Harry staying here. I don't believe he's ready to actively participate in the war."

Sirius replied, "Well, good thing you aren't his guardian then."

Dumbledore looked at Sirius with disappointment, "Don't you wish for Harry to enjoy his childhood a bit longer before being thrust into the arms of war? I don't need to remind you of how unforgiving a life of battle is…"

Sirius mocked, "Ha! 'Battle' he says! Dumbledore, since the reformation of this Order, there has been no battles! We just sit here in a knitting circle while Snape tells us what the Dark todger is up to and you sit there musing what it could possibly mean! The rest of us just twiddle our thumbs except for your 'trusted few' who guard the-…"

Dumbledore commanded, "Enough!"

Sirius scowled but didn't say anything else.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, "Yes, it is true we have not engaged in any conflicts yet but it is only a matter of time. A young man who is no longer a boy but not yet an adult has no place in that kind of lifestyle; worrying whether he will come back to his loved ones.

And also, if Harry were to be included in these meetings then I have no doubt that he would immediately tell Mister Weasley and Miss Granger."

Harry couldn't help but agree silently in his head but was startled when Sirius drew his wand with a flourish. The other Order members looked at him curiously before Sirius commanded, "Wand out, Harry!"

Harry calmly followed his godfather's instructions, unsure of what was going to happen.

Sirius asked in a lofty but powerful voice, "Do you, Harry James Potter, swear that you will not share what you learn at the meetings of the Order of the Phoenix that you attend without the express permission of an Order member, not including myself, Sirius Orion Black?"

Harry, understanding the implications of what he was about to say, replied, "I do."

Sirius finished, "So mote it be."

Streamers of lights sprung from Harry's and Sirius' wands and connected in a band of energy. The energy became ribbons that twirled this way and that way around Harry before tightening and disappearing beneath his skin. Once the light vanished, Harry looked at his skin carefully to see if there were any marks from the bands. Finding none, he sat back down.

Sirius looked back at Dumbledore in challenge and raised an eyebrow.

Dumbledore nodded his head, "Very nice but he is still too young."

Sirius laughed, "Oh please! In your _school_, he's faced more danger than he'll ever see anywhere else! Trolls and basilisks and dementor hoards and a _fucking_ dragon! I don't know what else you need to hear!"

Dumbledore still protested, "I still cannot permit him to stay."

Sirius glowered at Dumbledore darkly, "If Harry can't stay and _know_ what he's going to be facing, because he will face it at some point, then I'm afraid _you_ can't stay here and use this house."

Grumbling sprung up among the Order and Dumbledore quieted them, "Sirius, please, be reasonable!"

Sirius replied, "I'll be reasonable when you tell me the _real_ reason you don't want Harry here! And if you don't want to share then you're free to leave! But trust me, Dumbledore, there's not a better protected place in the Wizarding World than this house! And the only ones that compare are the homes of Death Eaters!"

Dumbledore was silent as the other members quietly talked to one another.

The Headmaster, after a moment, gave in, "Fine. You win, Sirius."

Turning to the rest of the Order, Dumbledore said, "If you will all adjourn to the drawing room for a few moments while I talk to Sirius and Severus…alone."

The gathered people got the hint and left the room except for Remus. Harry heard Sirius say that Remus had just as much say. As Harry followed the Order members to the drawing room, he could only wonder at Dumbledore's strange behavior. The Headmaster never, not even once, met his gaze tonight. It was…strange considering Dumbledore had always seemed to know when Harry was looking at him before and would usually meet his eyes with a knowing smile.

Putting it out of his mind, Harry thought about the 'real' reason Dumbledore would not want him them. He pondered what it could possibly be.

**X 3 X**

Sirius and Remus stood across the table facing Dumbledore and Severus. It seemed more like a standoff than a private meeting. An uncomfortable silence stretched between them before Snape quipped, "No smart words, mongrel?"

Sirius sneered, "You're not worth my time. I'm waiting for Dumbledore to start sharing…"

Severus snarled for being overlooked so easily but Dumbledore finally spoke, "Sirius, the reason I cannot allow Harry to attend the meetings is because he is a security risk."

Remus asked, "Harry just took a magical oath, how can he be a security risk?"

Dumbledore looked between Remus and Sirius and then at Severus before sighing, "Harry does not necessarily need to…talk to be a security risk…"

Sirius huffed, "What does that even _mean_? Stop talking in riddles and just spit it out!"

Snape, while he hated Sirius, Remus, and Harry, he was still curious why the Headmaster was so adamant about Harry being kept in the dark.

Dumbledore stared hard at Sirius, "I have reasons to…suspect that Harry may share…a mental link with Lord Voldemort."

That left all three of them stunned.

Dumbledore explained, "And that is why-…"

Sirius shouted, "How!? Why!?"

Dumbledore was tightlipped. Sirius could see that he had no intention of sharing. So the escaped prisoner said, "If you don't tell me why you believe that Harry has a link to this maniac then I will turn every single ward on this house to turn _destroy_ you. And while you are powerful, you won't be able to survive, Dumbledore. And if you or your lapdog try to attack me, then the house will kill you the same.

So make your choice, Dumbledore."

Both the Headmaster and Snape were well aware of how dangerous and powerful the wards on the house of a Dark family could be and the Blacks had been around for a long, _long_ time. Wards had been accumulating on this rat hole since it had been purchased who knows how long ago… They were caught.

For once, Sirius and Remus saw real anger on Dumbledore's face. It was strange seeing it on the face of such a kind and benevolent man but then again, he had been cornered. But Sirius wasn't going to back down and neither was Remus.

After a few minutes of silence passed between the four, Dumbledore asked, "Have you ever heard of a…horcrux?"

Horror was painted on Severus' face while Sirius and Remus shook their heads. Dumbledore explained, "A horcrux is a vessel in which one would store a part of their soul. The soul is delicate and will fracture if one is to murder an innocent in cold blood. It is my belief that after murdering Lily and being destroyed by Harry, Voldemort's spirit fled but his soul had been split once more and that soul fragment attached itself to Harry; specifically in his scar."

Now it was Remus and Sirius who looked horrified. After a moment of contemplating the implications of this, Remus asked, "What's the purpose of a horcrux. You said they're used to store a piece of your soul but why would you want to do that?"

Dumbledore answered, "With a horcrux, even if your body was to be destroyed, your spirit would remain tied to this mortal plane. With the right magic, you could be resurrected…again…and again."

Sirius sat down heavily and asked with disbelief, "So you're telling me that not only us he…immortal…but he also has piece of his soul inside of Harry…?"

Dumbledore nodded sadly.

Remus shakily supported himself on the table and even Snape was unsure how to feel. Even he would not have wished that on Potter.

Sirius shook his head, "No… I refuse to just _accept_ this!"

He looked up to Dumbledore, "You can do something about this! You _always_ have a solution!"

Dumbledore looked at Sirius with pity, "I cannot. I've been searching for a solution for over a year now when I began to suspect that Harry's connection with Voldemort was more than just coincidence. I haven't found a way to remove it without _killing_ him."

Remus slammed his hands on the table, "You said it was in his mind or something! Well, you're supposed to be one of the greatest mind mages in the world! Get inside his head and fix it!"

Dumbledore placated, "Remus, I can't. I fear that if I were to enter Harry's mind, Voldemort would sense the opportunity and try to enter _my_ mind and learn our plans."

Sirius raved, "Oh, I see! You just want to save your own ass! No, you will do it. Or so help me…"

Sirius trailed off ominously and Dumbledore understood. He was still within Sirius' domain. The enraged man was all but untouchable in this house.

Dumbledore offered a deal, "I cannot. But Severus can."

Immediate refusals were heard from all parties in the room. Sirius and Remus wanted the spiteful man to stay as far away as possible from Harry's mind and Severus agreed for different reasons.

Dumbledore allowed them to finish before explaining, "I had planned on asking you, Severus, if you would teach Harry how to defend his mind later on but my hand has been forced."

Before Snape could tell the Headmaster what he thought of that idea, Sirius said, "Oh, yeah. Because it's _so_ much better that our 'double agent' is the one that jumps into Harry's mind. He knows almost as much as you about everything that goes on here! He's the _only_ one you really share anything with! So that excuse about not wanting to let the douche lord in on our plans is a moot point!"

Dumbledore replied, "Voldemort would not immediately be hostile to Severus if he felt him in Harry's mind. He would most likely think that Severus was just probing Harry."

Remus retorted, "Bullshit! These last few meetings all Severus has talked about is how the You-Know-Who is suspecting him and he can't share too much! If he's already suspicious of Severus then he would wonder why Severus was Harry's mind! Just admit you don't want to do it!"

Dumbledore was getting angry again, "It's not that I don't want to do it but that I'm afraid of what will happen to Harry if I do."

Sirius mocked him, "Ha! You're just scared! After all that lecturing of how we shouldn't be scared of the nutcase and you just clam up at the thought of him! Hahaha!"

Dumbledore thundered, "_**Very well! I will do it! But do not be surprised at the consequences!**_"

Sirius and Remus recoiled, never having heard Dumbledore lose it like that.

The Headmaster instructed Remus after an uncomfortable silence, "Go get Harry. We'll do this right now. I admit, with a more thorough and hands-on inspection, I should be closer to figuring out how to remove the soul fragment from Harry."

Remus nodded and left the kitchen.

**X 3 X**

They had been sitting in the drawing room for about fifteen minutes now. They couldn't hear anything from the kitchen, no doubt from silencing charms placed on the kitchen to stop anyone from listening in Order meetings. When they first arrived in the drawing room, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the twins had been occupying themselves in various ways. They were quickly sent upstairs with much grumbling.

Harry shared a look with Hermione.

Hermione was still very upset with Misses Weasley but she gave him a small smile anyway. Harry tried to convey how he was sorry she couldn't stay through his eyes. She seemed to understand because she gave him and nod and look of thanks before retreating up the wooden stairwell.

Harry could feel the looks of the Order members as he sat on the couch with Tonks. Tonks was chatting merrily on and saying how she was sure Sirius would straighten Dumbledore out quick enough. Harry found her very endearing and was slowly becoming very fond of the clumsy young woman.

Remus then walked into the drawing room and called out for him, "Harry, could you please come to the kitchen."

Harry looked over at Remus and nodded. He stood up and followed Remus out of the drawing room. Upon entering the kitchen Harry noticed that the table had been pushed to one side and the chairs to the other. Only two chairs remained in the center of the room facing each other.

Sirius stood behind one chair while Snape stood behind the other. In front of the fireplace, the Headmaster had his back turned to Harry while gazing into the flames.

The Headmaster spoke first without turning around, "Please take a seat, Harry."

Harry looked at all of them curiously before sitting down in the chair Sirius stood behind. Sirius placed his hands on Harry's shoulders in a comforting manner.

The Headmaster continued, "I would like it if you would remain quiet while I explain why I do not wish to participate in the war quite yet."

Harry frowned but nodded, not that the Headmaster could see him.

Dumbledore explained, "I believe, Harry, that while you have done many amazing and extraordinary things over the years, you are not quite ready to have to give up your childhood. While I believe this, I would accept it if you wanted to join earlier than what I would approve.

No, the real reason I do not want you to join quite yet is that you are a…security risk. You have indeed sworn an oath this evening that restricts you from speaking of what you learn freely but when I speak of a risk, I do not mean your friends.

I have reasons to suspect that you have a mental link with Lord Voldemort."

Harry was a bit confused. He had already kind of figured that he had something like that with the Dark Lord. Why else would his scar hurt whenever Voldemort was close?

"I believe that if Lord Voldemort were to become aware of this link, he would use it to peer inside your mind and learn of what you know."

At this Harry's jaw dropped. He had never thought that Voldemort would be able to use the link like that. Harry always thought his scar was just an early warning system or something like that.

Sirius spoke, "But that's not all, is it, Albus?"

Dumbledore sighed before speaking again, "The night that you defeated him, Harry, Voldemort murdered your mother in cold blood. When a person murders an innocent in cold blood, their soul is fractured. Taking advantage of this, a person can take that piece of soul and place it inside a vessel. I believe that when you destroyed his body, his spirit fled but that newly fractured piece of his soul attached to the closet viable vessel; you."

Harry could only gape in disbelief before stammering, "**N-n-no! I-I can't have a piece of **_**him**_** inside of me! What does that make **_**me**_**!? **_**A puppet!?**_"

Sirius came around from the back of the chair and hugged Harry to his chest. Harry screamed and ranted and raved and cried but Sirius held him. Remus came up from behind and wrapped his arms around Harry as well and together the three mourned the loss of Harry's innocence.

Once the tears had run dry and his screams had quieted, Harry shrugged his shoulder, indicating that Sirius and Remus could get off. Once the two older men let go of him, Harry addressed Dumbledore, "Get it out of me. _Now_."

Dumbledore looked at Harry sadly, "I don't know how to get it out. But if you let me, I can look inside your mind and see how it's been embedded. With this knowledge, I may find something."

Harry nodded, "Let's do it."

Dumbledore turned around from the fireplace and walked to the other chair in the center of the room and for the first time that evening met Harry's eyes. Dumbledore instructed, "This will be uncomfortable, even painful. The more you relax, the easier it will be. Do not fight it."

Harry squared his shoulders.

Dumbledore gave him a small smile before suddenly Harry felt like a spike had been driven into his skull.

**X 3 X**

Dumbledore was a very skilled Legilimens. While he usually preferred a more subtle approach to using the mind magics, sometimes, one had to go whole hog. For this particular encounter, the Headmaster wasn't just perusing one's short-term memory or conscious thoughts. He wasn't even examining Harry's long-term memory. No, instead was bringing up Harry's very mindscape.

Mindscapes always defied reality in one way or another. They usually incorporated very subtle themes of the person. Sometimes, things that the person wasn't even aware of. So, when Dumbledore found himself in a mist as thick as pea soup, he wasn't all that alarmed. Instead, he employed an advanced technique most Legilimens didn't learn until much later in life. He changed his mental avatar from his usual gentle flowing breeze used to slip through most defenses into a nimble fox. This change was twofold; it sped up travel and also reduced how fast he tired. Elemental forms were very taxing.

He immediately bounded forward through the mist.

Dark shapes started to appear in the mist and they solidified into large black trees covered with dark green leaves. As he sped through the misty forest, Dumbledore thought about what he would have to look for and what to be wary of. In a mindscape, something that created a link to another mind would create a very obvious physical feature. Because that's what a mindscape did, it translated mental concepts and energies into physical structures.

His gaze wandered to the various birds that twittered in the mist, flitting here and there. Dumbledore imagined that the birds were Harry's memories. Usually, a person's memories took the form of something stationary but it wasn't unheard of for a person to have moving memories.

What the Headmaster was worried about was Harry's subconscious. Unless someone was well versed in mind magics, they usually were incapable of controlling their subconscious. If one were slow and searched around with care, they could usually avoid a confrontation with the subconscious. However, if the target knew their mind had been invaded, that usually put the subconscious on edge and made it much more responsive.

It was why changing one's avatar form was such an important skill. The mindscape did not have magic. Even if you created a wand, you couldn't use a spell. Everything was physical. If a person had mental shield of metal and it was flawless, Albus would have to change his avatar form from his preferred breeze into that of some kind of flame avatar to melt through the metal.

The forms that a subconscious took were usually physical which made his current form vulnerable but it was faster than using an elemental form which would also make a lot more "noise." However, one's subconscious learned and it could create multiple forms and numbers of defenses. These defensive avatars and defenses would only become more and more dangerous as you descended further into the mind.

So, Dumbledore wasn't surprised when he found himself face to face with a massive stag. It was easily ten feet in height from foot to the top of its head, not including its immense crown of antlers. It stood very still as it evaluated the Headmaster's avatar form. Dumbledore instead changed into a barn owl immediately flew up and over the deer.

He could hear it as it chased him deeper into the forest but it was soon left behind. Deciding to stick closer to the canopy, Dumbledore soared through the branches and watched as Harry memory birds fled from him.

He flew for a while, still not seeing an end to the mist or trees, when he heard the sound of something falling through the air. He immediately dived into the branches below and weaved through the foliage. A colossal eagle was after him.

Despite its large size, the eagle was very agile and was quickly catching up to him. Dumbledore dropped like a stone and became a large bear. The eagle shrieked in anger before flying away. A bear was slower, but it would provide the muscle necessary for any other large opponents. He loped off into the woods, deeper into Harry's mind.

The next threat was…innovative. He'd been watching carefully for his next opponent when he stepped onto a small anthill. The sheer number of ants that sprung up to defend their home was ridiculous. Acting immediately, Dumbledore changed into lion and hopped away from the ant hill before rolling in the thick undergrowth to scrub off the ants. He continued his journey before more ants could appear.

The mist had started to clear and the sound of thunder echoed through the now silent forest. Dumbledore increased his pace and was surprised when a pair of low hanging branches grabbed him. He had only ever encountered one other mindscape where the plant life had risen up to stop him and it was nothing like this.

A single tree had snared him and was slowly squeezing him to death. Dumbledore, seeing no other choice, changed into water. He slipped through the trees branches but when he felt the tree trying to actively draw his water form in through its roots, he turned to fire and burnt the undergrowth and groping roots.

The tree immediately recoiled and Dumbledore used the opening and changed into wind. It was tiring changing into all these different elemental forms and it was draining to maintain his current state but he could see the mist retreating and saw a distant shoreline.

He came to a long stretch of white sandy beach and left the mist behind. He was on the shore of a gargantuan lake and dark storm clouds covered the sky. Lightning arced and thunder rolled but there was no rain and the air was calm. The water of the lake rolled and tumbled leaving him to wonder what was beneath its surface.

He pressed on and headed out above the lake. He was only maybe a thousand feet from the shore when the water beneath him started to boil with fury. A draconic head emerged and massive jaws opened and breathed in. Dumbledore found himself being draw into the mouth but resisted with all his strength. Conceding this battle to him, the creature disappeared beneath the waves once more.

Dumbledore immediately rose high above the water. What just happened _shouldn't_ have been possible. While one's mind could do just about anything, creating and changing yourself into a magical creature was _not_ one of them. It was the same principle that made it impossible for someone to have a magical animagus form.

Putting his contemplations aside for the time being, Dumbledore sped onward. He saw the water serpent beneath the surface several times but he was going fast enough that the creature was having a hard time keeping up with him and in Dumbledore's current form, it wouldn't be able to fight him directly.

Dumbledore finally reached the center of the lake and was not disappointed. The water beneath him had changed into a gigantic whirlpool that plunged deep into the icy water while above his head, the dark clouds had mimicked the water and spiraled around a massive eye in the storm.

If Dumbledore had to guess, going up through the clouds would take him to the physical manifestations of Harry's conscious thoughts and also the controls for his physical body. Instead, Dumbledore turned his sights downward and headed into the whirlpool. He could see the swimming figure of the dragon-creature but disregarded it. Dumbledore had won.

The whirlpool extended impossibly deep and Dumbledore found that it opened into a cavern in the lake floor. The cavern was dry and Dumbledore looked up and saw the water from the whirlpool stopped at the entrance of the cavern, forming a watery ceiling.

The Headmaster changed back into his original form and walked around the cavern. Massive uncut gems decorated the walls and Dumbledore figured that these were Harry's most treasured memories and darkest secrets. He journeyed farther into the cavern and found a dark tunneled that branched off into the black rock. Following it, Dumbledore found a disgusting looking growth of what looked like oily tendrils.

What surprised him thought was a shield of glowing white energy interlaced with colors of infinite shades of every color from the brightest pink to the darkest indigo. Dumbledore watched as a single tendril from the growth extended toward him and encountered the white shield of energy. The oily limb was immediately turned to ash and the soul fragment screamed in an unearthly voice.

Dumbledore watched this happen a few times. The growth trying to get around the shield by digging through the wall but the white shield was flawless and extended around the growth in all directions. It tried a direct assault but the shield won every time.

Dumbledore waited though.

He knew Voldemort could sense his presence as Dumbledore easily could feel his old student's malevolence. The growth then grew in size and strength. Its tendrils became black tentacles covered in scales and talons.

Voldemort had arrived.

He immediately began to try and destroy the shield with no results. He tried going around the shield and found it impregnable. After ten minutes of fruitless effort, Voldemort retreated from his soul fragment. The growth shrunk once more and continued where its master had left off.

Dumbledore had seen everything he needed to. Somehow Harry had shielded his mind from Voldemort without even realizing it. But once more, this kind of shield should not have been possible. The Headmaster could taste the slight scent of ozone that magic possessed and could feel it emitting from the barrier. Out of curiosity, Dumbledore stepped forward and felt the energy with his hand.

For one instant, Dumbledore was connected with the mind of an impossibly ancient entity that was definitely not human. The sheer vastness of the being's mind was staggering. Dumbledore could feel a hint of amusement before he was forcibly ejected from Harry's mind with a flash of light.


	5. Chapter 5

_A.N.: I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to review my story. Many of you gave me a great deal of praise that has revved me up to writing another chapter quickly and a few of you have also left helpful advice and criticism.  
_

_ On a further note, I haven't heard anything about it in the reviews…yet, but I want to say that when it comes to dialogue, I __**purposefully**__ butcher grammar and spelling in order to make the sentence sound a bit more authentic. For instance, if Sirius said, "Do not worry. Remus and I will take a look," it just doesn't sound right. But if Sirius instead said, "No worries! Me and Remus'll have a looksee!" That sounds a bit more "in character." Just wanted to say all this before a grammar Nazi got on my case. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!_

**Gan 'Edhen**

**Last Time:**

_**For one instant, Dumbledore was connected with the mind of an impossibly ancient entity that was definitely not human. The sheer vastness of the being's mind was staggering. Dumbledore could feel a hint of amusement before he was forcibly ejected from Harry's mind with a flash of light.**_

**Chapter 4: Closure, Closer, and Conflict**

The Headmaster blinked; his eyes stinging from the extended time that they had been open. He looked over to Harry and watched as the young man rubbed his temples to massage away his headache. Sirius and Remus were asking if he was alright and if he needed anything. Dumbledore sat there in his chair for a moment before saying, "Harry."

Harry, Sirius, and Remus all looked up at him and Dumbledore could also feel Severus' eyes in the back of his head. The Headmaster cleared his throat before stating, "I was wrong. I found that Voldemort is not only aware of the link but also has no access to your mind in the least. For that, I'm sorry.

I did not learn as much about the soul fragment as I would have liked. Perhaps at a later date, you would be so kind as to let me examine your mind again…" 'And let me learn more about this entity who is protecting you.'

Harry smiled and nodded in agreement.

Sirius and Remus also let out a cheer at learning that the Dark Lord didn't have access to Harry's mind. Harry asked, just to confirm, "So, this means that I can join the Order meetings?"

Dumbledore really wanted to say no.

Despite what people may think, that he was a manipulative, evil bastard, he really did have the best for Harry in mind when he made decisions concerning the young man. Dumbledore didn't want Harry to know all that much about what was going on because he was afraid it would break the faith that the boy placed in people. He didn't want Harry to become cold, cynical, and believe the worst in people.

But…the Headmaster realized that he really should have more faith in Harry. He grew up in a very abusive (emotionally, not physically) home environment and he still came out with a heart of gold. It was amazing how resilient the good in Harry was.

In that moment, when Dumbledore looked at Harry, he saw in the young boy's eyes Lily's spirit. He may have looked just like his father, James, but Harry was the spirit incarnate of Lily. Lily had been such a kind, passionate, and morally upright person. While Harry had started to become more and more of his own person, it was amazing how much one person's heart could bear without even cracking.

And so Albus Dumbledore did something that he imagined he would only do many years down the road. He told Harry the prophecy about his and Voldemort's intertwined fate. Not the whole version, but the version he had told to only his most trusted.

"_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... _

_Born to those who have thrice defied him,_

_Born as the seventh month dies... _

_And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal,_

_But he will have power the Dark Lord knows not..._

_And either must die at the hand of the other,_

_For neither can live while the other survives…_

_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord_

_Will be born as the seventh month dies..."_

Dumbledore observed the emotions as they flitted across Harry's face: horror, disbelief, anger, _fury_, and then sadness, regret, and finally acceptance. He had explained how a Death Eater had learned part of the prophecy before being discovered. The Death Eater told Voldemort and Voldemort began to immediately search for the child of prophecy.

Between Harry and Neville, Voldemort chose Harry.

And so Harry sat there in silence as Sirius and Remus each had a hand on one of his shoulders. Their grips were painful reminders that this was all real. Letting out a shaky breath, Harry asked, "So it really is down to me in the end…"

No one replied.

On his part, Snape was trying to slow his heartbeat. Dumbledore didn't say who exactly it was who shared the prophecy with Voldemort but just the thought of the three sitting before him finding out nearly gave him a near death experience.

All he could imagine is that he would be reduced to a cloud of red mist within seconds as the full force of the wards of The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black came to bear. So he wisely kept his mouth shut and tried not draw as little attention to himself as possible. It wasn't hard, considering how much grief and regret he still possessed over the event that lead to the love of his life, Lily Evans, dying.

Dumbledore broke the silence, "With this out of the way, I hope that we are able to move past this and that you will accept my invitation to join the Order of the Phoenix."

Harry looked up with a stunned expression, "A full-fledge member? Not just a sit-in?"

Dumbledore nodded, "A full-fledged member. This will also dissolve that oath you took earlier thought I do request that you do not share this information. I will understand if you do choose to share what you know with certain individuals."

Dumbledore turned to Sirius, "I hope this satisfies you."

Sirius looked at Dumbledore for a moment before crossing the room. He pulled the old mage into a hug, which surprised Dumbledore, before Sirius released him, "Headmaster, today you earned my trust back. I'm grateful that you shared _everything_ with Harry."

Dumbledore felt a twinge because he really _wasn't_ sharing everything but he didn't want to let anyone know exactly what the prophecy said without having some kind of idea what its cryptic words meant.

Maybe this is what that magic was inside of Harry, '_the strength of the Infernal Wyrm_...'

Nonetheless, he smiled and thanked Sirius.

And so he asked them to rearrange the room as he fetched the rest of his Order. After calling everyone back from the drawing room, he explained how Harry was not only allowed to sit-in on the Order meetings but was actually the newest member. He had just as much say as any other member and would never be knowingly kept in the dark on any issues that _all_ members were aware of.

Understandably, a few were upset that Harry was allowed to join (Molly especially) but he received a warm welcome for the most part. With that concluded, Dumbledore started the meeting and asked for progress reports from the various Order members. Some were positioned in the Ministry (Arthur, Kingsley, Tonks), some had been assigned to follow various known Death Eaters (Moody, Tonks, Kingsley, and a smelly fellow called Dung), everyone was on a rotating shift of guarding the Hall of Prophecies (only one person reported because the Order had just met yesterday), contacts in Gringotts monitoring Death Eater accounts (Bill), and a whole slew of other positions.

All the while, Remus was whispering in Harry's ear very fast, explaining exactly what this and that meant, who was who, and what was what. He also explained that a lot of the older people in the room who didn't speak were more like sponsors and/or retired members of the Order who acted like advisors.

Dumbledore smiled from his position at the front of the room, glad that Harry was taking this all in stride.

**X 4 X**

Later that night, Harry's head was spinning from all the information he had learned. Most all the _prophecy_. He was unsure how to approach the issue of his foretold destiny. In one aspect, he was happy to know _why_ Voldemort had gone after his family. On the other hand, it was _because_ of the prophecy that his parents were murdered in the first place. It was a conundrum and Harry was unsure what to do about except just accept what happened and move on. With great difficulty, he resolved to do that.

After the meeting had concluded, he asked Misses Weasley, Sirius, Remus, and pretty much just anyone who had interactions with the rest of the teenagers in the house to not say anything about his induction into the Order.

Most of them shrugged and agreed to do as he asked while Misses Weasley was just all too happy to heed his request.

Dumbledore had said he would understand if Harry talked with 'certain individuals' about what happened but Harry wasn't so sure… Hermione would probably freak out while Ron would…well…Harry wasn't sure. Ron would probably feel bad for Harry concerning the prophecy but he might just focus in on the fact that Harry was now a member of the Order of the Phoenix.

Weighing his options, Harry decided to just talk to Hermione. He asked Sirius where her room was and he told Harry, but not before congratulating him and then making several very inappropriate suggestions which made Harry's cheeks light up like a Christmas tree.

After escaping Sirius' probing questions concerning Hermione and himself, Harry went up to the second floor and came to a stop in front of the fourth door on the left. He knocked timidly and waited.

After a few seconds, he started to reconsider his decision and assumed she was probably asleep anyway. He had just turned to leave when the door opened.

Hermione had poked her head out from behind they door and when she saw Harry she blushed. Harry immediately whirled back around when he heard the door open and tried to act nonchalant about his failing nerve.

Hermione spoke first, "Do you need something?"

Harry swallowed heavily, knowing he needed to talk to someone, and asked, "Can I come in?"

Hermione face became very red before she stammered, "O-one minute!"

Her door slammed shut and Harry jumped in surprise. He had never seen Hermione get flustered like that before. Not even half a minute later, the door was thrown open and Hermione stood in a pair of pajama bottoms and a T-shirt…that was just a tad too form fitting for a healthy teenager like Harry to have a serious conversation.

Nonetheless, he suppressed his hormones and persevered.

Hermione spoke in an octave higher than normal, "I hope I didn't keep you waiting."

Harry shook his head quickly, "N-not at all."

Hermione nodded before motioning him inside.

After Harry passed her, Hermione performed a very fast, very enthusiastic, and very, very _quiet_ victory dance. She closed the door to her room and locked it with _click_.

There would be _no_ interruptions this time.

Hermione walked past Harry and sat down on her bed. She patted the space next to her and Harry hesitated for a moment before sitting down…a bit farther away from her than Hermione would have liked. Internally, she growled but figured she could close the distance as the night went on.

Harry noticed a few things after stepping into the very neat and tidy room First, two drawers had been thrown open in Hermione's dresser and they showed some…very interesting articles of clothing. One was a shirt…and bra drawer. The other drawer stored her pants, including pajamas, and her…knickers. Harry never knew that Hermione would wear such lacy undergarments. They were very sexy, which was a strange concept when talking about his best friend…

Harry also noticed the wet towel that had been thrown to the side and also that Hermione's hair was also wet. Putting two and two together, Harry realized that Hermione had only been in a towel when she opened up the door the first time and that was why she only peeked out her head.

Harry was having trouble remembering why he came up here again and, very consciously, sat a bit farther away from Hermione than he would have usually.

They sat there for a moment, a mix of awkwardness, sexual tension, and arousal making the air heavy before Hermione dispelled it, "What did you need, Harry?"

Harry straightened like he had been electrified before relaxing a bit and replying, "I…I needed to talk to someone about…stuff…"

Hermione quirked an eyebrow and moved a bit closer, "You know you can talk to me about anything…"

Harry noticed when Hermione started to inch closer and his head turned out of instinct…and he immediately turned it back. He was suddenly hyperaware that Hermione wasn't wearing a _bra_ under that _too_ _tight_ shirt.

_**Holy fucking shit**_…what had he gotten himself into?

He took a deep breath and released. All this…_stuff_ could wait until later. But right now, Harry needed to tell his dearest friend what had transpired tonight. And so he did.

He shared what had happened before Dumbledore kicked everyone out of the kitchen, explained how the Headmaster tried making a lot of excuses, told her how after Dumbledore had talked with Sirius that he called Harry into the kitchen and came clean, Harry told Hermione how apparently he had a piece of Voldemort in his head and how it was possible that the Dark Lord may have been sifting through his mind and Harry might not have even been aware of it.

Harry also explained to her how the Headmaster dove into his mind and when he came out, he told Harry that he had nothing to worry about. Harry told her how he then learned of the prophecy regarding him and Voldemort and that while Harry knew that he should just accept facts and move forward to better combat the Dark Lord, he still felt angry and wondered why did it have to be _him_? Why was _Harry_ cursed to have a Dark Lord hell bent on ending his life?

By the end of his long monologue, Hermione was wrapped tightly around his middle and silently crying into his chest. Harry felt angry at himself for making Hermione so sad but could only sigh at this point. He was all spent for the night.

Having sat for so long this evening, Harry's back was killing him and decided to take a chance. He laid back and with Hermione's position, she ended curled into his side.

She looked up at him with glassy brown eyes and large tears making its way down her face like small jewels. Harry smiled at her and wiped the tears away, "Don't cry… Really, I should have expected it."

Hermione's hand balled into his shirt and she retorted, "But it's not fair! You've already done so much, given so much, and just because someone said a few funny verses in a deep voice, it's written in stone!?

It's so…stupid…"

Harry found himself grinning despite the rather somber information he just shared, "How eloquent, Miss Granger… Stupid."

Hermione looked up at him sharply, "How can you be making jokes at a time like this!?"

Harry shrugged, "I don't know… When I'm with you, it's like the rest of the world can go bugger itself for a few moments. It's just me and you and the fun we're having…"

Harry glanced down at her and Hermione looked back up at him. As Harry looked at her, Hermione seemed so vulnerable. He just wanted to help her and make her feel better. There was something akin to a magnetic attraction in the air but…he resisted. He was comfortable right now and had no desire for anything else; speaking of both his current physical position and the position he occupied in Hermione's life.

No need to go and start something.

**X 4 X**

There it was again. That look of hunger in his eyes that had so aroused her the previous night. Hermione immediately felt certain places of her body warm up and become extremely sensitive. She started to move up when she saw the look disappear.

It was replaced by contentment and Harry smiled down at her gently.

Hermione recoiled a bit…had he known what she wanted to do and was telling her 'no' or did he change his mind or was he even aware of the kinds of emotions he was displaying or…

_Groan_…

There was no point getting all riled up for nothing.

For now though, she felt Harry totally relax. They laid there for a while until Hermione heard a very soft sigh of breathe. Looking up, Hermione realized that Harry had fallen asleep. A part of her wanted to desperately take advantage of his moment of weakness and just pretend she fell asleep too or even maybe steal a kiss…but she knew she wouldn't want someone to do that to her.

With a heavy heart, she shook Harry awake.

His eyes flickered opened before asking sleepily, "Hmmm… Did I fall asleep…?"

Hermione giggled, "Yes, you did. You should probably go back to your room."

Harry groaned, "…Don't wanna…"

Hermione smiled, "C'mon, go to bed!"

Harry simply rolled over before replying, "Ron snores…terribly. I'll never get to sleep in there…"

Hermione felt a sense of hope flutter in her chest, "Well…I suppose you could sleep in here if you _really_ wanted to."

Harry sighed in relief and started to go back to sleep before Hermione hit him. He jumped up, "What!?"

She tried to look stern, and failed, "Go get ready for bed! Change and brush your teeth."

Harry sighed, "Fine…"

He got up and walked to the door to exit but the door wouldn't budge. He quirked an eyebrow when he realized that the door was locked but didn't say anything. He unlocked it before slipping out.

After he left the room, Hermione waited a moment before grabbing a pillow and screaming into it. He wanted to sleep in here! She was nearly vibrating in happiness.

There was only one large bed in this room, which she had been sharing with Ginny until recently, so she and Harry would be _sharing_ a bed. Hermione blushed, technically, they would be _sleeping_ together. She nearly fainted with happiness. Nonetheless, she controlled herself and tidied up after her mad dash to get dressed.

Looking down at her very tight and thin sleeping shirt, she figured she had overdone it a bit as her nipples pushed against the fabric and was visible from the front. She thought about changing but then Harry might get suspicious…

Deciding the damage had already been done, Hermione kept the shirt on.

A few minutes later, Harry ambled into the room with his own blanket and pillow. She was curious but didn't say anything until she noticed he was walking to the sofa in the room. She felt horror and she ranted in her head, 'How could I have _forgotten_ about the _**damn couch**_!?'

Hermione asked, "You're…going to sleep there?"

Harry looked up from his blanket arrangement, "Yeah. It's your room and I'm imposing as it is. I wouldn't even _think_ about making _you_ sleep on the couch!"

Hermione smiled while she mentally was tearing out her hair, '_Or we could share the bed, you __**daft fool**__!_'

Harry settled down into his new sleeping arrangement and said, "Good night!"

Hermione quietly sighed in disappointment; she should have expected something like this. She replied, "Sweet dreams…"

She got out of her bed and turned off the lights before returning to bed.

Well, progress was progress… Another day then.

**X 4 X**

The next morning, Harry woke up feeling refreshed. He stretched and sighed in contentment. He was a bit confused about where he was until he looked over and saw Hermione softly snoring. Unlike Ron, her snoring was actually very cute and not loud in the least. It was more like louder than normal breathing than snoring.

He smiled at her before turning inward to his dream.

It was the same as ever. One difference was that he didn't feel "all there" for lack of better term. When he stepped into the dream, he actually recognized that he was dreaming. He felt more like a passenger as he couldn't do anything except watch.

After seeing everything and hearing what the circular, white crystal said, he started to drown again. But this time, even though he was "drowning," it felt more like just slowly waking up. And that was it.

Shrugging, he slowly got off the sofa and folded his blanket. He stepped lightly as he made his way out of the room and looked at Hermione one more time before opening the door and exiting.

He slowly eased the knob back in place before turning around and coming face-to-face with Ginny. Her mouth was open and she was looking at him with surprise and he opened his own mouth to try and explain before realizing he didn't know what to say. Instead, he closed his jaw with a click and silently walked around her and back to his room. He felt her eyes boring a hole in the back of his head until he reached his door and entered his room.

Harry found Ron just the way he left the lazy glutton; asleep and snoring. Putting his blanket and pillow back on his bed, Harry then grabbed a new change of clothes and the towel he used yesterday off of his bed post he had put it on to dry.

He peeked out of the door, checking if Ginny was still in the hallway. She wasn't so he happily dashed to the bathroom at the end of the hall. While passing Hermione's room, he heard raised voices.

Instead of stopping, he ran faster.

Maybe he would be able to at least eat some toast before dealing with whatever he had done.

Probably not…

**X 4 X**

Hermione was very rudely woken up when she was hit in the face with a very firm pillow…_hard_. She bolted up, holding her nose.

There she saw Ginny looking at her with fury.

The redhead scream, "_You_ _**bitch**_! I see it all now! When you gave me that advice about Harry, you really were just positioning yourself better and getting rid of your competition! Well tough shit, Granger! I've wised up to your act! _You __**fucking**__**slut**__!_"

Hermione screamed back, still holding her nose, "What're talking about!?"

Ginny seethed, "Don't give me that! I saw Harry come out of your room this morning looking like he just woke up! He couldn't even say anything! He just walked past me!"

Hermione blinked… Oh, _shit_…

Hermione sighed, "Ginny, nothing happened-…"

Ginny yelled, "Bullshit! You expect me to believe that!?"

Hermione growled, "_Nothing_ _happened!_ Besides, aren't you going out with Michael Corner!?"

Ginny scowled, "Yeah, right… And the only reason I'm going out with Michael Corner is because _you_ told me to!"

Hermione frowned, "Yes, I suggested that you possibly date other people because _you_ couldn't even _talk_ to Harry without _running_ from the room!"

Ginny snarled, "_So you really were just trying to get me out of the way, __**you fucking whore**__!_"

Hermione yelled, "Oh, please! If I wanted you out of the way, I wouldn't have given you any advice at all! It's your fault! You went too far, too fast! _It's not my fault that you're such a slag and __**Harry**__ doesn't want anything to do with __**you**__ because __**he**__ noticed __**all the guys you were dragging into broom closets**__!_"

Ginny was stunned into silence and her eyes were tearing up. Immediately, Hermione felt guilty for the words that came out of her mouth (even if they were true). She started, "Ginny, I didn't-…"

Ginny fled from the room, bursting through Hermione's door.

The sound of a door slamming shut marked the end of her journey.

Hermione sighed and shook her head, 'That could have gone better…'

**X 4 X**

Harry was eating some buttered toast when Hermione came down. He looked up at her and noticed the weary set of her shoulders. He tilted his head and offered her toast. Accepting it, Hermione sat down heavily into the chair next to Harry.

She placed the piece of toast in her mouth and nibbled on it methodically while only holding it with her lips. She sighed before holding the toast with her hand and taking a big bite out of it.

Harry asked, "You and Ginny get into a fight?"

Hermione snorted, "I think our friendship just ended…"

Harry prompted her to explain. Hermione complied, "She saw you coming out of my room and assumed the worst. She woke me up and we argued before I said something I shouldn't have… It was true but I shouldn't have said it."

She took another bite of toast.

Harry frowned, "Yeah, I kinda ran into her in the hallway and she was just staring at me. I didn't know what to say so I just kept walking."

Hermione snorted in a very unladylike fashion. Harry looked at her and started to chuckle. In response, Hermione started to giggle until both of them were laughing. Really, the situation was so ridiculous that there was no other response.

They calmed down a few minutes later, still snickering a bit. They then just sat there. A comfortable silence stretched between them and they felt no need to break it.

Remus soon walked down the stairs and greeted them, "Morning."

They responded in unison, "Morning."

Remus quickly busied himself making toast and tea before grabbing the morning post from outside. Settling himself down, he started to read the newspaper. After moment, the older man asked from behind his paper, "I heard some shouting this morning, would you two have anything to do with that?"

Hermione and Harry blushed, "No…"

Remus peered over his paper, "_Mmhmmm_…"

Harry and Hermione looked away from each other, their faces getting even redder.

Surprisingly, the next person to bound down the stairs was Sirius, "Good morning, everybody!"

They all greeted him.

Harry was curious why his usually late rising godfather was so chipper, "What's got you in a good mood?"

Sirius smirked, "Other than the fact that my godson shared a room last night with a very pretty girl, nothing at all!"

Harry choked on his own spit as Hermione's face burned crimson.

Remus looked back over his paper, "_Mmhmmm_…"

Harry snapped, "Shut up, Remus!"

Harry didn't need to see behind the paper to know Lupin had a smug smile plastered on his face.

Harry scowled at Sirius, "Could you please keep that to yourself…?"

Sirius had an absolutely devilish smile on his face, "What's it worth to ya?"

Harry pursed his lips, "What are your _balls_ worth to you?"

Sirius immediately crossed his legs, "That's a low blow…"

It was Harry's turn to smirk, "And don't you forget it."

Sirius blew a raspberry as him before following everyone else's lead and making some toast for himself.

Molly entered the kitchen fifteen minutes later, greeting them all warmly before starting breakfast. A half hour later, most of the household, including Ron, had drifted downstairs, drawn by the smell of cooking bacon.

When the table was finally set, Misses Weasley noticed Ginny was missing. She frowned and shook her head, "That lazy girl… Could you go get her, Hermione?"

Hermione froze before answering, "Uh… I don't think she's feeling well…"

Misses Weasley's expression softened, "Poor dear. I think I'll go up and see if she's alright."

Miss Weasley turned to do just that before Hermione jumped up, "No need, Misses Weasley! She said…she was just going to…uh…catch up on her sleep as she got over whatever bug she caught!"

Misses Weasley looked at Hermione with a skeptical expression on her face, "Uh…If you're sure, dear."

Hermione proclaimed, "Positive!"

Misses Weasley shrugged and sat down to eat as well.

A half-hour later, Molly called the teenagers to order for house cleaning duty while the Sirius and Remus, the only adults present this morning, had other things to do. Misses Weasley said that today they would be cleaning the basement.

Harry asked Ron, "Basement?"

Ron nodded as they walked toward a door hidden in a corner of the kitchen that Harry hadn't really noticed, "Yeah, Kreacher lives down in the basement thought so don't expect a warm welcome…"

Harry gave Ron a perplexed look, "Kreacher?"

Ron snorted, "Yeah, he's a bloody old House Elf who just creeps around the house talking to himself about 'mudbloods, half-breeds, scum' and the like. Thankfully, Sirius told him to stay down on the basement soon after we arrived."

Harry queried, "Why doesn't Sirius just make him clean the house or something?"

Ron shook his head, "The thing is as crazy as a mad dog. I think he'd just make things worst…"

Harry nodded before Hermione interjected, "Kreacher is only like that because he's been mistreated! If he were to just be treated nicely, I'm sure he'd come around! As it is, Sirius is really mean to him and that can't be good for the poor creature…"

Ron snorted, "I think Sirius should just put the little fiend out of his misery."

Harry sighed as they started to bicker. Why couldn't they just get along…?

When they descended the stairs and entered the basement, Harry was more than a bit disgusted at all the dirt, dust, and mildew that almost caked the walls. There wasn't actually all that much in the basement, just some empty shelves and a boiler. From under the boiler, came a very skinny and old House Elf.

His bloodshot eyes and yellow decaying teeth looked absolutely terrifying in his gaunt face. He mumbled very loudly, "Kreacher sees that the mudblood and blood traitors have come down to Kreacher's home. There's a new one among them. More scum, no doubt. Kreacher must be nice to filth of the earth because blood traitor master ordered Kreacher so."

Harry watched in horror as a mockery of a smile stretched across Kreacher's face, "Good morning, guests of blood traitor master! How can Kreacher help you?"

For once, Harry believed Ron was right. This thing needed to die…_now_.

Misses Weasley cleared her throat, "Don't mind us, Kreacher. We're just cleaning."

After mumbling other insults that all of them could clearly hear, Kreacher bid them good day and vanished back under the boiler from whence he came.

Without further ado, Misses Weasley summoned some cleaning rags, buckets of soapy water, and a few mops.

They cleaned for a few hours, trying their best to avoid slipping on the dirty and slick floor. Misses Weasley finally told them that she would be going upstairs to make lunch and that they could just keep cleaning until she called them.

As soon as she was gone, Fred and George immediately pounced on Harry, "Harry, our dear friend,"

"…as you were the only one allowed to stay-…"

"…for the Order meeting last night…"

"…we thought that it would be the opportune time-…"

"…to share with us everything that you heard last night."

Harry grimaced and decided to use the story he came up with last night if anyone asked, which was actually the truth, just omitting a few details, "Sorry, guys, I swore a magical oath last night not to say anything…"

The twins immediately deflated and announced in unison, "Figures…"

Ron, who had also been very eager to hear, was also disappointed.

When Harry met Hermione's questioning gaze, he sent her a pleading look. She gave him a barely visible nod before returning to work. Misses Weasley called them upstairs ten minutes later to get washed up for lunch.

The rest of the day passed in a monotonous rhythm of cleaning. Without Ginny helping, there was slightly more work for everyone to do and that led to it taking longer to finish up. When they did finally complete the basement, they trudged upstairs feeling a bit more worn out than usual.

Hermione said she was going to take a shower and the boys retreated to the drawing room to relax. The twins and Ron decided to play Exploding Snap but Harry said he would just watch. After maybe fifteen minutes, Harry heard the water upstairs shut off, signaling Hermione had finished her shower.

Harry retreated upstairs to grab a new change of clothes after letting Ron the twins know his intentions. After picking out a new set of clothes, Harry made his way to the bathroom and was unsurprised to see everything had fogged and that it was still steamy in the bathroom.

He wiped off the sink counter with a hand towel and dropped his clothes there. Quickly stripping he jumped into the shower.

He used Hermione's body wash and hair products again but was too tired and smelly to care at this point. He was thankful that there wasn't going to be an Order meeting tonight. Misses Weasley had informed him as he trudged past her to the drawing room.

After drying off, Harry dressed and gathered up his dirt clothes and towel. He left the bathroom, dropping off the soiled laundry in his room, before heading back downstairs. Hermione had gone downstairs while Harry had been cleaning up.

They talked quietly as Ron and the twins continued playing Exploding Snap. Misses Weasley called them for dinner about an hour later and Mister Weasley, Bill, and Tonks were joining them for dinner again. Sirius and Remus also came downstairs, both of them looking very refreshed for some reason.

Dinner was lively as always.

Misses Weasley went upstairs with a plate of food for Ginny and didn't come back down for almost an hour. By the time she came back down, the table had been cleared and the teenagers had retreated back into the drawing room.

**X 4 X**

Misses Weasley looked very upset when she walked into the room and asked, "Hermione, could you please come into the kitchen."

Hermione sensed that this was not a request. She sighed; she had been dreading this since Misses Weasley had disappeared upstairs. She felt someone take hold of her hand and give it a comforting squeeze. Hermione looked over and saw Harry smiling at her in a reassuring way. She felt her chest swell with gratitude and affection for him. Hermione squeezed his hand in return before getting up and going into the kitchen.

Misses Weasley motioned for Hermione to sit with an unreadable expression.

Taking the invitation, Hermione sat down.

She was confident. She had every right to be. Misses Weasley was not her mother and could object to what she and Harry had done, but Misses Weasley couldn't control her. And if Misses Weasley was upset that Hermione had really given it to her daughter than Hermione had no objections to sharing exactly what Ginny had said to her.

Misses Weasley did not sit down; instead she paced on the opposite side of the table from where Hermione sat. Her expression had gone from blank to stormy. Misses Weasley was only paced for a few moments, obviously waiting for Hermione to crack and start talking.

This tactic only worked on hotheads like the Weasley children and maybe Harry but Hermione wasn't intimidated by silence. She might have been nervous around an obviously angry authority figure in the past but her respect for authority had dropped off over the last few years, especially last year with that fiasco of a tournament.

So Hermione sat there and contemplated how this was going to go.

She had only maybe gone over scenario three before Misses Weasley spoke, "Ginny is very upset. She says that you called her horrible names and told her Harry thought she was a…_scarlet woman_."

Hermione knew that Misses Weasley needed to vent a little before she could respond without just being spoken over.

"Frankly, I would have _never_ expected something like that from _you_! You knew she has **strong** feelings for Harry and you took _advantage_ of that! She says that you made her do…_things_! _Things_ to make her more _comfortable_ around **boys**! And she also tells me that you only did it to make _Harry_ think **badly** of _her_!

On top of that, she tells me that last night _you and Harry had sex_!

_In all my years, I have never come across someone so manipulative or scandalous! __**What do you have to say for yourself!?**_"

Hermione realized in that moment just where exactly Ron got his "exemplary" debate skills from. Knowing this, she treated this much like another fight with Ron but with a much cooler tone and head.

Hermione stated, "First, I would like you to get several facts straight. I only called Ginny a slag because she was ranting at me and calling me names like, I quote, 'you fucking slut,' and, 'you bitch.'"

Misses Weasley started up, "Now, my Ginny would _never_ say-…"

Hermione shouted, "_**Molly Weasley!**_"

Misses Weasley recoiled, surprised by the sudden outburst and use of her full name.

Hermione immediately followed up, "You've said your piece. Now, let's act like adults instead of simply refusing to listen."

After a moment, Hermione continued, "I gave Ginny advice that she should probably become friends with other guys, maybe even date one or two, so that she would be able to talk to Harry because the fan girl attitude was driving him up the wall. It's not my fault that your daughter proceeded to then start picking up guys left and right and dragging them to broom closets. It's also not my fault that she didn't even think to be discreet enough so that Harry wouldn't notice.

And lastly, what Harry and I do or do not do is _none_ of your business. Frankly, I'm sick and tired of you trying to '_subtly'_ push me and Ron together when I have _no interest_ in him and Harry is also just _very uncomfortable_ around Ginny because he's well aware of her comings and goings and she's much too forward. And as a side note, Harry and I did _nothing_ last night. He didn't want to listen to Ron snore so he slept in my room _on the couch_."

Misses Weasley looked in shock at being addressed like that and also at what Hermione had told her. Hermione said, "Now that you have both sides of the story, I think I'll just leave while you absorb this."

Hermione turned to exit the kitchen when she heard Misses Weasley slammed her palms on the tabletop, "How…_dare_ you **slander** my daughter!"

Hermione turned and saw rage in Molly's eyes.

Hermione was not scared though, actually she was getting angry too. But she controlled it, "I don't need to slander your daughter. Ginny is the one who decided to do all the things she did. I figure it's because for once in her life she felt like she had control of someone else instead of the other way around.

But she did do those things. I know, Harry knows, the twins probably know, and most of the Gryffindor house knows. The only one hasn't really noticed is Ron."

Miss Weasley paled, the implications that an entire quarter of the current Hogwarts class thought something like that about her daughter; that is, if Hermione wasn't lying.

She retorted, "If the twins knew, they would have done something and come to me about it!"

Hermione snorted, "No, they wouldn't. All they want to do is live how they want to and I figure they thought if that was how Ginny wanted to live, then she had every right to live that way. And you know it too."

Misses Weasley shook her head, "I refuse to believe this! You're just lying to my face! What ever happened to the smart girl who was respectful and so mature for her age!"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "I haven't changed at all, Misses Weasley. I just know who to hold in high esteem and who I shouldn't. I've gotten very tired of you acting like my mother. I assure you, _I already have a mother_ and she's a much better parent _than you_. She also acknowledges that she doesn't know everything and she isn't always right.

She also hasn't tried to set me up with a boy I have no interest in or set up my best friend with girl that just makes his skin crawl. My advice now is that you have a _nice_ _**long**_ talk with your daughter and make sure that she's honest with you _and_ herself.

Good night, Misses Weasley."

**X 4 X**

Hermione was sitting in her bed, in the dark, feeling very gloomy.

Misses Weasley was very cold to her after their conversation that evening, not surprising, and made sure that Harry and her went to their own bedrooms. Hermione also wasn't stupid and figured Misses Weasley would put up some charm to keep out people of the male persuasion from entering Hermione's room.

The bright side to all this is that Hermione probably wouldn't have to deal with futile attempts to pair her and Ron up.

Still…

Hermione sighed; she had really wanted Harry to spend the night again…

She curled up beneath her blankets and snuggled with a pillow.

She really wished Harry was here…


	6. Chapter 6

**Gan 'Edhen**

**Last Time:**

_**Hermione sighed; she had really wanted Harry to spend the night again…**_

_**She curled up beneath her blankets and snuggled with a pillow.**_

_**She really wished Harry was here…**_

**Chapter 5: Runaways, Redundancies, and Riches**

Harry had just reached the shore of the massive lake when he was rudely awakened by cold water to the face. He bolted up, adrenaline pumping, until he realized it was just Sirius and Remus...standing in his room in the middle of the night.

Harry shivered and growled, "W-w-what was that for?"

Sirius instructed, "Get dressed. We're leaving."

Harry realized that Sirius and Remus had very solemn looks on their faces. He looked over at the still sleeping Ron, who was strangely silent (must have been some kind of silencing charm Sirius or Remus cast), before jumping out of bed and getting dressed. Sirius jumped in and started throwing Harry's clothes into his trunk.

When Harry was dressed, he asked quietly, "Are…we going to…Edhen?"

Remus went still and Sirius also paused before resuming. Sirius asked, "You dreamt about it?"

Harry's eyes went wide before nodding stiffly, "You know about the dreams?"

Sirius smiled as he searched around the room for any more of Harry's clothes, "I know a lot of things. And, no, I won't go into it while we're still here."

Harry felt a sense of excitement and anticipation as he watched Sirius shrink his trunk. Sirius said, "Make sure to bring your broom; you'll need it."

Harry nodded and took his now very small trunk and grabbed his Firebolt from behind his bed. Remus and Sirius walked out of the bedroom and started to head downstairs when Harry asked, "Wait… Can we bring someone else?"

Sirius and Remus looked back and then at each other.

Remus answered, "I don't think that's a good idea, Harry. We'll likely be gone for months. We probably won't get back until after Christmas."

Harry pleaded, "But, the dreams told me to! I swear!"

Remus looked back at Sirius. Sirius scratched his cheek before asking, "You want to bring along Ron and Hermione?"

Harry answered sharply, "No!"

Realizing how he spoke, he flushed before saying quietly, "Just Hermione."

Sirius didn't make a smart remark, only curiosity was evident from his expression. Remus as well had quirked an eyebrow, wondering what had happened.

Harry explained, "The dreams, they said not to bring the one who harbors sloth and envy but to make sure to bring the Daughter of Beauty."

Sirius did grin at this, "So Hermione is a daughter of beauty now, huh?"

Remus' eyes lit up with understanding, "So that's why you asked me about that…"

Harry nodded, "Yeah. I also figured we were going to Edhen because my dreams said the Dog Star and Moon Child would guide me and…well…I'd be pretty stupid not to realize that you two were what the dream was talking about."

Sirius thought about it for a moment, "Alright. Let's go wake up Hermione. Moony, could you go get Lily's things?"

Remus nodded and quietly hurried upstairs to the attic.

Sirius and Harry walked to Hermione's door but when Harry reached for the doorknob, he felt a nasty shock. He jumped back with surprise and looked curiously at the door. Sirius scowled and placed his own hand near the door and got a jolt as well.

He snarled, "That fucking housewife is a piece of work! She needs to learn to mind her own business!"

Sirius took out his wand and gave it a wave before grabbing the doorknob and opening the door. He waved Harry inside and said, "I'll just wait for Moony. We'll be downstairs in the entrance."

Harry nodded and entered Hermione's bedroom.

She was curled up on her side, snoring in that cute way that she did. Her hair was a mass of curls splayed out around her head like a halo. Harry smiled. He hated to disturb her but there was a reason Sirius and Remus were leaving right now instead of broad daylight.

Harry leaned over the bed to reach Hermione, it really was a big bed, and started to shake her. Hermione woke up slowly. She seemed to recognize him even in the dark, "Harry…? Wha-what are you doing…? An-*yawn*-and what time is it?"

Harry said, "There's not much time to talk. Sirius, Remus, and I are leaving. We're going somewhere and we'll be gone for a long time. Remus says not until at least after Christmas. I wanted to let you know…and also ask if you would come with me."

Hermione was immediately wide awake. She had followed Harry through everything he had done so far and would go to hell and back for him if required. Hermione trusted Harry with her life and being more than anyone else; maybe even more so than her parents.

It only took a fraction of second for her to reach a decision.

She slid out of bed, from underneath her warms covers, and asked, "What do I need to pack?"

The smile that bloomed on Harry's face could have lit a small town.

Harry told her, "Pack everything. We'll bring your trunk downstairs and Sirius or Remus can shrink it."

Hermione nodded and immediately complied. While packing, "Is Ron packing still or is he downstairs?"

Harry didn't respond immediately and Hermione paused in her packing to look at him. Harry bit his lip before replying, "Ron's not coming with us…"

Hermione blinked…and then pinched her arm (stealthily, of course, because Harry would wonder why) just to make sure she _wasn't_ dreaming. Once she confirmed the reality of the situation, Hermione simply replied, "Okay."

Nothing else was said.

Mentally, Harry was questioning whether he should leave Ron behind while Hermione was crowing with delight. She just couldn't believe her luck. Months of time with _Harry_…and Sirius and Remus. No _Ron_ to muck things up and make her angry. And Sirius obviously approved of her if he had let them sleep together in her room. And Professor Lupin, Remus, had always liked her.

It was a dream!

The thought that she never asked where they were going occurred to her but it was secondary when she thought about the obvious and immediate benefits. Her only concern was her parents and…_school_! How could she have forgotten about Hogwarts!?

Then she remembered that while classes were important and helped with the material, all Hogwarts students had to do was take the end of the year exams and pass to advance. It was a bit stupid to put some much emphasis on the tests but wizards weren't too bright.

Shrugging off the issue of school, she considered her parents.

How does one explain that they're going to run off with a _teenage boy_, a_ werewolf_, and an _escaped prisoner_ without being grounded for life? She wasn't sure…

Nonetheless, she found herself downstairs in the entrance hall with Harry, Remus, and Sirius. Remus magically shrunk her trunk and Harry's broom and as they went to the door, she asked, "Um… A little late to ask this, but what are we going to do about school…and my parents?"

Sirius waved her off, "Don't worry. I left a letter explaining things to Dumbledore without getting too detailed. He'll be angry that we left without him being able to assign us any stooges to keep an eye on us but he'll cover for you guys in school. And I'm sure he'll tell your parents that you've been chosen for some kind of extended internship or field trip or something…

Dumbledore might be crap at sharing information, but he's a genius when it comes to cover-ups. Now let's get going. The sun will be rising in like half an hour and I want there to be at least two jump points before we head to our actual destination."

They exited the house and walked to the curb. The early morning chill was somewhat pleasant against their flushed skin. Underneath the flickering streetlamp, Sirius raised his wand and tapped his head. His long black hair flowed blonde and his pale skin became tanned. Then he stuck his wand straight into the air. With a _bang_, the Knight Bus popped into existence.

A pimply, gangly looking young man stepped off the triple-decker purple bus to greet them only to be pushed aside with fistful of galleons to the face by the now blonde Sirius. Remus, Harry, and Hermione followed after the disguised Sirius.

Upon entering the bus, Sirius banged on the glass behind the driver, "Take us here!" The old driver looked startled before taking the paper that Sirius had shoved into his hands. Nodding, the driver punched the gas.

Harry and Hermione went tumbling end over end only to be stopped by many sliding beds present in the bus during its late night/early morning hours. Harry rubbed back where he had slammed it into the wooden frame and Hermione cradled her head.

Remus and Sirius looked back at them from their solitary positions at the front of the bus with amused expressions. Harry saw the driver prepare to make a wild left turn. Grabbing Hermione, Harry pulled both of them up onto a bed before everything that wasn't planted or holding on (except Sirius and Remus) went flying into the right side of the bus.

Hermione blushed, finding herself cradled in Harry's arms in the rather small bed. Harry was too busy trying to make sure that they were relatively safe from flying through a window. The driver seemed to have gotten out of the city in record time and they were driving very fast through a country road.

Sirius, still disguised, and Remus walked back calmly and sat down on a bed each as Hermione and Harry righted themselves, Hermione still blushing and Harry happy for some relative peace.

Harry looked around and noted they were the only ones on the bus; at least on this level excluding the conductor and driver (Stan and Ernie if Harry remembered correctly).

Harry then turned to Sirius, "So, tell me about Edhen."

Sirius smirked, "All revved up and ready to go, eh? Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but we're not going there quite yet. We're going to be staying at the Potter Manor until after your birthday."

Harry blinked, "Potter Manor?"

Sirius waved off the question, "You'll see it soon enough."

Hermione chimed in, "I have exactly no clue what's going on. Could someone fill me in…?"

Remus shushed Sirius before the cocky animagus could start and said, "Let's wait until we're in a place with fewer ears."

He glared specifically at the conductor who had been trying to eavesdrop.

They were silent, simply riding through the rather bumpy and dangerous ride, until the bus screeched to a stop. The conductor called, "The Maple Fork!"

Sirius said, "That's us," and hurried off the bus.

The triple-decker left the group behind in a cloud of dust. Without a word, Sirius took off at a sprint into some brush with Remus following quickly behind him. Harry and Hermione stood there for a moment before taking off after them.

They didn't stop for a good minute or two.

When Sirius and Remus finally stopped, Harry and Hermione leaned over to catch their breath. After some deep breathing, Harry straightened up and looked around. They were on top of a small hill and beneath them was a small river that split into two large streams. At the very tip of the split, was a single maple tree.

On the eastern horizon, silver light brightened the sky.

Sirius smiled, "Running behind schedule but we'll make up for it right now."

With little fanfare, Sirius grabbed Harry around the shoulders and Remus did the same with Hermione. A feeling akin to being sucked into a small rubber tube lasted for an instant before Harry found himself stumbling onto a dirt street of a small village.

He looked around and saw Remus and Hermione standing right next to them. Sirius took off again and Harry sped after him. He asked whiling running, "Did we just apparate!?"

Sirius gave Harry a smile, "Sucks doesn't it!"

Harry couldn't help but agree.

They only ran a short way before ducking between two houses. Harry ran into Sirius when his godfather stopped suddenly. Harry was once again subjected to apparition. After coming out of the horrible pressure, Harry found that they had appeared in a mist covered field. He immediately felt a twinge of excitement before remembering Sirius said that they would be staying at Potter Manor first.

He still couldn't believe he had a manor and no one told him!

Harry turned to Hermione and asked, "Are you okay?"

She was huffing and replied sarcastically, "Oh! I'm _great_! After being tossed around like ragdoll in a tin can, I was subjected to the _torture_ of running before being apparated clear across the country, not once but _twice_! I'm fantastic!"

Sirius laughed, "I should have figured you went for feisty girls, Harry!"

Both Hermione and Harry blushed but didn't reply. Over the last few days, things had felt different between them but Harry didn't want to mess up their friendship based on "feeling."

Sirius and Remus then took out shrunken broomsticks from their robes and enlarged them. Harry followed their example and Sirius enlarged his Firebolt to normal size.

Sirius explained, "We're going to take a little flight. Hermione, you'll have to share with Harry as we didn't have enough time to grab a spare broom."

Hermione paled but nodded.

She hated flying.

Harry motioned for Hermione to get in front of him so he could still use the foot rests on the back of the broom to better guide the flying contraption. Hermione complied and figured flying wouldn't be too bad if she got to be close to Harry.

Hermione almost gasped as Harry's arms snaked tightly around her midsection and grabbed the broom handle between her legs. He mumbled, "Sorry," before kicking off.

The broom rose smoothly into the air and Hermione immediately clenched her eyes shut. Slowly, she peeked out from beneath her hair and saw they were rising out of the mist. Sirius guided them, taking them in a seemingly random direction for a while before doubling back. He flew straight for a little while longer before hanging a sharp right.

They weren't going too fast but Hermione was still terrified. Even with Harry there, it didn't take away the fear she was going to fall off.

The sky had lightened more and the sun was begging to emerge from the horizon.

The mist had thinned and Sirius descended into a lightly wooded area with Remus and Harry right behind him. Hermione jumped off the broom as soon as possible and dropped to her knees and felt the moist moss beneath her with her hands.

Ground was good.

Sirius tapped his head with his wand and cancelled his disguise while saying, "I think that should be enough to shake off Dumbledore, and anyone else for that matter, from finding us. If they can track us after all that, then I give up. The wards at the manor can deal with them then."

Harry looked around, "The Potter Manor is around here?"

Remus shook his head, "No, it's up north in Scotland. We just created some jump points so that we could lose any trackers before using the portkey we have."

Remus immediately began shrinking down the broomsticks while Sirius searched his pockets for something; probably the portkey.

Sirius let out a ringing, "Ah ha!" before pulling a silver skeleton key from his pocket.

He motioned everyone over and Remus walked up as Harry scooted Hermione off the ground and towards Sirius. Once everyone was gathered around, Sirius grinned, "Let's go! Everyone grab hold."

Once everyone was firmly holding some part of the large key, Sirius said, "Caledonia."

Reality suddenly melted and the sensation of a hook grabbing you by the navel latched onto them. A motley assortment of colors assaulted the senses and the spinning left Harry dizzy.

The portkey then deposited them outside of a massive black ironwork gate with sweeping and flowing designs that stood maybe twenty feet tall. On the gate, there were two massive silver stags with interlocked horns.

Surrounding the forest path they were standing on, in front of the gate, were massive and very old scots pine trees with arching branches. They formed an almost solid wall with how thick the woods were and their branches formed a roof for the corridor to the gates.

Beyond the gate, Harry could make out a large building in the middle of a large sloping field in the predawn light. A small lake was to the left of the building. It was fed by a large stream that was also present in the clearing and a flow of equal size exited the lake on the opposite side.

Harry asked, "Where are we exactly?"

Remus answered, "We're in one of the remnants of the ancient Caledonian Forest that used to cover Scotland. This specific forest is called Glenmore Forest by the muggles, I believe. There are actually quite a few muggles who come through the forest but there are muggle repelling wards that cover this entire section of the forest so that no one just wanders across it. Usually, if they come this way, they'll just circle the ward line without even realizing they're not walking in a straight line."

Harry snorted before looking back at Sirius and saw his godfather place the skeleton key into a slot in the gate. The older man twisted the key and, with a click, Harry watched the two stags on the gate rear back their heads and unlock their horns. The gate swung outward.

The forest path continued all the way to the large house, about a thousand yards or more, and the group walked slowly as the sun finally crept over the horizon and the dawn light washed through the large scots pines, that not only fenced in the forest path outside the gate, but also surrounded the massive field that the house was situated in.

Harry noticed the blooming wildflowers (including heather, buttercups, and Scottish bluebells) and tall grass that grew throughout the field and the gentle morning breeze that ruffled them. His gaze went to the boundary of the clearing and saw tall black metal posts placed at regular intervals mounted with a pair of silver stag horns.

Harry commented, noticing a herd of red deer grazing at the end of the field, "There seems to be a lot of deer here…both real and artificial. Was it just coincidence that my dad was a stag animagus or was it a joke?"

Sirius snorted while Remus explained, "Well, one usually gets to choose what form you want when you start to become an animagus."

Hermione commented, "I didn't know that…"

Remus smiled, "Well, it's more like you get to choose from a certain group of creatures. Sirius had a choice between canines or badgers or polecats."

Sirius explained, "I figured out the biggest and meanest dog I could turn into and stuck with it. More useful than a badger for containing a werewolf."

Remus nodded and addressed Harry, "Your father had a choice of mostly cloven hooved animals but decided on a red deer because it's been the symbol of your family since they formed over eight centuries ago."

Harry was amazed at that little snippet of history he never knew.

Hermione asked, "How does one find out what animagus forms you are compatible with?'

Remus complimented, "Good question. You usually learn through the art of scrying. You've probably heard this term before in Divination but I can assure you that the proper use of scrying is much more useful and practical than staring into a crystal ball.

A person needs some kind of reflective surface; mirrors, still water, and crystals work the best. From there, it takes concentration, patience, and time to actually scry. Scrying is useful for divining aspects of yourself and other people. I don't mean 'You will have this many children,' but as in 'Your magic has an affinity for enchanting.'

Being able to divine aspects of yourself is what allows you to see what types of animals you are compatible with.

Scrying is also useful for seeing real time events. If you are familiar with an area, it's possible to scry it even if you're thousands of miles away. If you're familiar with certain people, you can also scry them. However, the most useful aspect of scrying though would be that you're able to see what recently happened in a certain area surrounding the scryer."

Hermione looked quite impressed and Harry was also very interest in this so called "scrying."

Hermione asked, "So Sirius can scry?"

Sirius answered for himself, "Yes, I can. Not easily, but I can. It was also the reason that we went through that whole wild run across England. Dumbledore not only is a user of most magics, including obscure ones, but is usually a master of them. I know for a fact that he can scry.

However, it takes time to properly scry so I believe we should be safe."

Harry asked, "Couldn't he just scry us and know where we are?"

Sirius shook his head, "It doesn't work like that. He may be able to _see_ where we are, but he won't know where we are. And even if he knew where we were, he wouldn't know how to get here. As far as I know, he's never been to Potter Manor and the estate is unplottable so it's not like he can just look us up.

No, he'll try and track us down the old fashioned way with a lot of footwork.

But no worries, I figure we're in the clear. Even the most powerful wizards can only look back maybe twelve hours into the past. It's about quarter to six right now. Ron, bless his laziness, won't wake up until probably eleven. Molly and Ginny apparently want nothing to do with Hermione so they won't bother checking in on her. After Ron wakes up and brings to everyone's attention that you're missing and they'll check Hermione's room. That's over five hours, right there.

When they don't find you or Hermione and realize that me and Moony missing, they'll search the house. That'll probably take two hours because of how messy and dirty the house is and Molly will likely end up searching herself because she doesn't want to put her children in any danger from anything…unsavory in the house.

At this point, Molly will call Dumbledore and Dumbledore will come and search the house again for any signs of conflict or forced entry. There goes another hour. He'll most likely figure out that we left of our own will at that point and call in Moody.

He'll have Moody search, with that eye of his, the inside and around the outside of the house for any apparition or portkey signatures. Another hour right there as Moody is a paranoid fucker and will go over the house four times before he's satisfied.

He'll come up empty-handed to Dumbledore and then the old goat will probably resort to scrying. This gives him around a three hour window to try and track us down. Even the most accomplished scryer takes about fifteen minutes to actually get in the right mind set, even Dumbledore.

He'll probably scry Harry's room and find out about Edhen but that's fine. He may be able to figure out what to do to get there but he won't have the time to actually chase after us and won't know where we're going after we get to Edhen; so that's more or less a dead end for him.

He'll then scry the entrance hall after hearing our conversation and see us go outside with everything.

Then he'll go outside and see us jump in the Knight Bus.

From there, he'll summon the Knight Bus and ask the conductor and driver if they know anything. However, the Knight Bus has two shifts, the day shift and night shift. We caught the tail end of the night shift so the driver and conductor won't know anything.

So, he'll try and scry us again. It'll probably take him twice as long with how the Knight Bus drivers operate. He'll hear us talk about Potter Manor but like I said earlier, he doesn't know where it is and so that's another dead end. So he'll head over to Maple Fork.

He'll scry us there and see us run up the hill. He'll scry us at the top of the hill and see us apparate. He'll use our signature and follow us. From there, he'll scry us and see us run down through the village. He'll scry us every hundred yards or so until he finds where we ducked into the alley and apparated again. So maybe four times including his initial scrying of the village to see us. That's about an hour for the village alone.

He then follow us again and find the field.

He'll scry us and see us take off into the air on broomsticks. He probably carries something that'll let him fly. He'll have to move fast but he has to keep scrying to make sure he doesn't pass us up but you can't move when scrying. He'll _maybe_ find where we doubled back but that'll be it. He won't know that shortly after doubling back we made that right or where we descended.

So we more or less win."

Hermione and Harry looked at each other with wide eyes. That was some serious forethought…

Harry, now more curious about his family home, asked, "So what kind of wards does this place have? You guys have said muggle repelling wards and wards to make the house unplottable but what else?"

Sirius nodded, "They're not anything nasty like what the Black House has but then again, the Black House is the conglomeration of generations of dark wards."

Hermione asked, "You know, I've been really curious about that. Grimmauld Place doesn't look that old but you say that they wards have been there for a very long time. How is that?"

Sirius grimaced, "That because most of the wards on the Black House are blood wards. Blood wards have a unique advantage of being able to be transferred to a new property so long as a member of the family sacrifices a little blood.

When the Blacks fell from grace, we were forced to sell our ancestral seat of power. Of course, we took everything of value, including the wards, with us but now we're just a remnant of the Old Ways. Back when blood magic and the other Dark Arts were not only common but respected.

Everything the Blacks had or stood for is decaying…and I couldn't be happier."

It was startling when someone finally understood the _loathing_ Sirius felt for his family. It was actually a bit scary. Harry, eager to change the subject, asked, "The defenses?"

Sirius blinked before snapping his fingers, "Oh, yeah! So the Potter Manor here has more siege wards than anything else. The posts set up around the field equally distribute the power from the keystone located under the foundation to the actual wards. With how much power the Potters poured into these babies over the years, it would be quite an accomplishment for anyone to try and put them down."

Harry whistled in appreciation before actually looking at the manor, which he had been avoiding looking at until he was closer. It was built on top of a small artificial hill that was leveled at the top so that the building wouldn't be tilted from the sloped field. The actual manor house was built from grey stone and had a kind of castle feel to it.

It was rectangular in shape and the house extended from the center of the building much farther out to the sides than to the front or back. Harry could observe that there were four levels from the outside, including a small square tower crowned with battlements that extended from the center of the house about the height of three normal floors. On the top of the tower, a black flag fluttered in the wind that was embroidered with a single silver stag reared on its back legs.

The first floor looked as tall as two normal floors combined and boasted large wooden double doors and massive arching windows. The second floor was normal looking, from the outside, and matched the first floor in width and length. The third floor was maybe only half as wide as the second floor and was centered on the manor. And finally, the tower extended from the center of the third floor.

There wasn't too much decoration to the outside of the house but it was very clean with sharp angles and corners. All in all, it was rather Spartan looking.

Harry asked, "So what are the different floors?"

Sirius answered, "Well, as you can see, the first floor is really tall. It has a foyer which leads either upstairs or to the ballroom on the east side of the house or the formal dining room on the west side. Uh…the house is facing south so that you know."

Harry nodded and figured if he was facing the entrance, the ballroom would be on the right side of the house and the dining room on the left.

Sirius continued, "The second floor has a common area including a small library in the center and has eight guests suites on each side of the house. The third floor is the family apartments which has a bigger common room, an informal dining room, and only three large suites on each side with not only their own personal bathrooms but also living space and office.

Finally, the tower has the Potter library. The inside of the tower is just _lined_ in books."

Hermione's face lit up, "Is it okay if I browse?"

Sirius chided, "Well, you should really be asking Harry," Hermione blushed and turned to Harry but Sirius continued in a more serious voice, "but I don't think it's a good idea in any case. The Potter library is filled with a lot of books of dark magic."

Harry and Hermione looked shocked at this.

See their expressions, Remus explained without being prompted, "The Potter family is considered to be 'Light' because they disagree with the treatment of muggleborns, not because they're against dark magic. Now, I don't mean dissolve-your-soul-and-empower-yourself dark magic, but the Potters have always been regarded as great practitioners of battle magic and the Dark Arts are mostly battle magic."

So Harry clarified, "So my family is fine with dark magic? That's…weird. Well…as long as they didn't look down on muggleborns, I guess it's alright."

Sirius snorted, "Harry, your family has been considered an influential pureblood family since they first came to power. While recent generations of the Potters advocated for better treatment of muggleborns, it doesn't mean they particularly cared for them. Really, when your grandparents found out that James fancied your mother, they weren't too happy. They had actually been pushing for James to get closer to my cousin, Narcissa."

Harry went wide-eyed, "Malfoy's mother!?"

Sirius nodded, "Yes, she married into the Malfoy family, a relatively young but wealthy family that came up maybe…a century and a half ago?"

Harry was very confused. What did his family exactly stand for?

Sirius smirked, "James, of course, wanted nothing to do with Narcissa and continued pursuing Lily to his parent's dismay. When James started dating her, they started saying how after such and such generations of being purebloods, the Potters would no longer…blah, _blah_, _**blah**_.

So James, finally sick of them complaining, brought Lily home for Christmas and introduced her. Except for a rather unenthusiastic first meeting, your grandparents came to _love_ Lily. To be honest, when he graduated, his mother all but told him if James messed it up with Lily, she would kill him herself."

Harry asked, now confused, "So, my grandparents really liked my mum?"

Sirius smiled, "Yes, and I can assure you, they would have loved you too. They weren't cold and emotionless blood zealots but they were raised with certain beliefs, especially your grandfather. 'Muggleborns are people too but we're not _just_ people.'"

Hermione asked, "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

Remus answered for Sirius, "It means that the Potters wanted to stop the blatant practice of discriminating and taking advantage of muggleborns but also believed that they, the Potters, were still not to intermingle or have romantic interests in muggleborns."

Hermione frowned and Sirius continued, "That's why the Potters could be considered more of a neutral family than anything else. As I said before, the _only_ reason they're considered 'Light' is because of their stance on muggleborns. Frankly, if it weren't for that, the Potters would be a very solid neutral family like the Greengrass family.

Most 'Light' families not only believe that muggleborns are mistreated but are very against the Dark Arts."

They were silent for a moment as they continued their very slow pace. Harry started to gnaw on his thumbnail, "Should I consider looking at the library here then? I mean, if my family was known for their use of…the Dark Arts then should I look into them?

But then again…I thought the Dark Arts were supposed to be addictive or something like that… That they just make you go nuts or something."

Sirius snorted, "That's something housewives tell their children. I've used my share of battle magic, a lot of it considered Dark Arts, and I can tell you that they're not addictive or anything like that. But it is dangerous magic.

If you don't know what you're doing, it can lead to some very serious complications. A lot of battle magic will only work on living flesh so someone may practice on a dummy and not see any results. Then in the heat of the moment, they may use the same spell in a duel and _**bam**_! Your opponent's chest cavity was just ruptured as his heart exploded.

If you were in a fight to the death, great! If you were dueling your angry neighbor because they were pissed your dog keeps shitting on their grass…well…not so much.

And just as a final note, your family is known for _battle magic_ not Dark Arts. Dark Arts includes all those nasty sacrificial virgin rituals… So make sure you say _battle magic_!

Harry nodded as Sirius continued, "And whether you want to look into battle magic is your choice. I can show you a thing or two if you'd like but just to warn you, battle magic is not pretty and it's not friendly. It's meant to injure, maim, and kill your opponents. Also, most of the spells are designed to be _very_ difficult to heal and will leave extensive scarring if you do survive…

Then again…if we're going to Edhen, it's best you learn some… In fact, I've just made it a requirement! You too, Hermione!"

Hermione jumped, "Me!? But…it's dark magic! Isn't that…y'know…_illegal_?"

Sirius rolled his eyes, "_Illegal?_ Yeah, right. Like all the influential families in Wizengamot who practice Dark Arts would let that happen. Don't worry. You'll thank me when we get to Edhen!"

Hermione growled, "Speaking of Edhen, can someone _please_ tell me what Edhen is already!?"

Remus smiled, "Wait a little longer. We need to give you guys a tour of the manor."

Harry and Hermione looked forward and saw they had finally reached the house.

The double doors seemed even larger now that they were standing in front of them. They were rounded at the top and framed in elaborate rune-like carvings. In fact, Harry looked to be sure, all the large arched windows that ran all the way around the first floor were also surrounded in rune-like carvings as well. The only decoration really on the otherwise very plain looking manor.

Sirius approached the double doors and took out the silver key used for the gate. He placed it into the keyhole on the right door and turned it. The key turned smoothly and the lock _clicked_ almost immediately.

With little fanfare, Sirius removed the key, grabbed onto the large silver door handle, and pulled. He entered and the rest filed in behind him.

Just as Harry saw from the outside, the first floor really was as tall as two normal floors combined. The foyer was of a moderate size and the walls were the same gray as the outside of the manor. The floor of the foyer was covered with a massive and very thick, blue Persian rug. There were two black marble fireplaces on both sides of the foyer with a crackling fire present in each. Grey flagstone tiles peeked out from the corners and around the fireplaces where the rug did not cover.

Two curved dark wooden staircases descended to foyer floor from a large dark wooden balcony at the end of the foyer that obviously led up to the second floor. The stairs were carpeted in thick blue carpet of a similar shade to the foyer rug. Under the balcony was a raised stone dais that had two torch brackets mounted to the wall on either side of a carved depression in the wall. The heads of the torches, and their flames, were encased in crystal that amplified the light of the torches. The depression in the wall held a white statue of an individual wearing armor, sans the helmet, and holding a sword and a wand by his sides.

Descending from the ceiling was a black chain from which hung a monstrosity of a chandelier. It was black metal and made in fashion that resembling dozens of interlocking stag horns. For some reason, it also resembled an upside down Christmas tree, especially with the hundreds of small candle lights peeking out from behind the horns.

On the side walls of the foyer, past the fireplaces and towards the back wall, was each a single large wooden door. They probably led into the ballroom and the formal dining hall.

Sirius grinned, "I missed this place…"

Remus also wore a small smile, "It is good to be back."

The two Marauders looked at each other and then called in unison, "_Steward!_"

Hermione and Harry jumped at the sudden noise and looked at the two questioning. The older men didn't acknowledge the two. Instead, they were focused on the spot where a figure appeared with a _pop_.

Standing there was a House Elf.

He was very regal looking, for a House Elf, and he wore a cut of black linen arranged in such a fashion that it looked like a toga. Holding the toga on his frame was a round silver crest imprinted with a "P" that connected the part of the toga that covered his chest and the piece that went over one shoulder.

His eyes weren't buggy and round like most House Elves' eyes were. Instead the dark brown, almost black irises, sat behind very heavy lids. His expression was blank and looked almost bored. His ears reminded Harry of a Doberman pinscher. They were straight up, unlike other House Elves whose ears usually drooped to the side. Finally, he had a long, straight nose.

The House Elf looked as Sirius and Remus and then Harry and Hermione. He cleared his throat before speaking in a rather deep voice for a House Elf, "Master Black. Master Lupin. I am…overjoyed to see you once more. I see that you have also brought along Master Harrison and a young lady. How may I service you today?"

Sirius ran forward, "Steward, you old dog, how are you!?"

When Sirius reached down to probably pick the House Elf, Steward, up, Steward disappeared with a _snap_ and reappeared a few feet back.

"Master Black, while your enthusiasm is appreciated, it is not appropriate for someone such as yourself to be touched by a servant _or_ vice versa."

Sirius pouted and Remus chuckled.

Harry and Hermione were just standing there with surprise and curiosity. They had never met a House Elf so…human-like. Steward spoke without using the affectionate and naïve verbal ticks that defined most House Elves. He didn't speak about himself in third person nor did he talk to others in third person. Harry was used to the House Elf, Dobby, who did both of these. He talked about himself in third person and also always called Harry "the Great Mister Harry Potter Sir," never using pronouns like "you" or "he."

Steward, the very strange House Elf, then turned to Harry and walked up to him. The serious House Elf bowed low before straightening. He spoke with little emotion but Harry could sense a bit of happiness, "Master Harrison, it is so good to see you once more. After the death of Master James and Mistress Lily, the Potter House Elves, including myself, were unsure if we would ever be graced with the presence of another Potter. Your return is…something to be celebrated."

Harry was about to ask why Steward kept calling him Harrison when Hermione commanded in a mortified voice, "Harry, you have to set these House Elves free! I can't believe that they've been stuck here for over a decade!"

Harry felt an immediate sense of guilt at that thought. Once more, he was about to speak, when Steward addressed Hermione directly, "Miss, I would kindly ask you to refrain from making such brazen and ignorant demands of my master. If I am correctly interpreting the intent behind your statement, then you are simply uninformed about House Elves. If you are actually just disgusted by the presence of House Elves then I can assure you that the door works both ways and you can quickly vacate yourself from the premises."

Hermione looked gob smacked at being spoken to like that before her brain started firing again and she retorted, "I know that you and your kind are slaves to families and that you're mistreated! You should be working for wages, not for free! It's wrong that your people are taken advantage of like that!"

Steward lifted a single eyebrow, "I do not work for wages because I instead work for my life. I was correct when I said you were ignorant about House Elves because you obviously do not know how the magic of a House Elf functions."

Hermione looked confused, "Your magic?"

Steward nodded, "Yes, House Elves cannot produce their own magic. Instead, we must live in magically rich environments so that we may absorb the excess magic. Most magically rich places in the world today are the ancestral homes of old magical families and they, understandably, don't want strange creatures living in their homes that just absorb the magic from their homes like parasites.

So, in exchange for servitude and loyalty, House Elves are allowed to live in these magically rich homes. If not for this agreement, House Elves would be treated like pests and we would surely die once our magic was completely drained."

Hermione was quiet for an instant before she exclaimed, "You should still get wages! You're only absorbing the excess magic from around the house, right? So why should it matter? You're being abused and taken advantage of! Why can't you see that!?"

Steward was showing some anger now, "You _insult_ the Potter family with your accusations! _Never_ has any of my kin or I working under the Potters _ever_ been abused! Also, while we absorb excess magic, we also _weaken_ the wards and magic around the house because that magic would have been used at some point. So we _leech_ off the magic of the house and weaken its _defenses_. So it is not unfair that we serve these families. There is a reason House Elves fear being freed. _Where would we go?_ Another family? No, each ancient house has an abundance of House Elves. Hogwarts? There are too many House Elves there already. There is nowhere else to go.

Besides, a person only takes pay for their work so that they may live and _survive_. We are provided _everything_ we need to live so we have no need for pay. I would be insulted and _ashamed_ to be paid. And if that is not clear enough for you, Miss, then I request that you do not speak to me or mine while here. We have no time for pigheaded fools."

Steward turned from Hermione and then ignored her presence. Hermione looked shocked by what Steward had told her and how he had talked to her.

Sirius whistled, "Still keeping that tongue sharp, Steward."

Steward smiled, "Why, yes, I am. I only wish I could use something sharper on the traitor Pettigrew. Unfortunately, you've already killed him."

Sirius' smile slipped and he grimaced, "Well, you may just get your chance. Pettigrew framed me."

Steward nodded, "Yes, I am aware. He acted as if you had still been Master James' Secret Keeper and confronted you on a crowded muggle street. Obviously, he thought you wouldn't have killed him but you did. The thirteen muggles caught in your spell were unfortunate though…"

Sirius shook his head, "No, Steward, Wormtail is alive. He's the one that blew up the muggles. He cut off his finger and disappeared into the sewers as the explosion blocked everyone's view."

Steward's face morphed into a mask of pure rage, "He lives? He had better pray that I never come across him."

Remus hastily interjected, "If you do find him, we ask that you turn him in! If Pettigrew shows up alive, then Sirius' name will be cleared."

Steward seethed for a moment longer and then calmed himself. He slowly nodded, "Very well. Master James would have wanted that."

Sirius bowed his head, "Thank you, Steward."

Steward nodded again before addressing Harry, "Master Harrison, you haven't spoken at all since I've entered the room."

Harry screwed up his face, "Why do you call me Harrison?"

Steward replied, "Because your name is Harrison James Potter."

Harry wrinkled his nose, "I'm pretty sure it's just Harry."

Steward shook his head, "Harry is nothing more than a nickname, Master Harrison. When your name was added to the Potter family tree, it was written Harrison James Potter. Not Harry. Are there any other questions you have, Master Harrison?"

Harry thought about it for a moment, "How many House Elves work for the Potter family?"

Steward answered easily, "Under your employ you have three House Elves who work in the kitchen, five that clean and maintain the house, two groundskeepers, one librarian who takes care of the Potter family library, five that take care of, harvest, and deliver the healing herbs and potions ingredients from the basement level fields underneath the house, and, finally, me. I am the Head Elf of the Potter family. So in total, you have seventeen House Elves under you."

Harry paused, absorbing the information, and then turned to Sirius, "Sirius, you didn't mention a basement level."

Sirius shrugged, "I forgot about it."

Steward explained, seeing Harry's confusion, "There is a basement level under the manor that is used to grow the many different plants that are used in a variety of healing potions. Your family has been growing them for over four centuries now and is one of the largest producers in Britain. Good quality ingredients can be a very lucrative product and because of this, the Potter family has enjoyed huge dividends. Even though you are a producer and have to sell to a retailer, who usually sells it for double, the profits exceed seven hundred thousand galleons each year."

Harry's eyes were wide, "Wow… That's _a lot_ of money."

Steward nodded, "Indeed, Master Harrison. However, the profit from the potion ingredients is not so great that you can enjoy a frivolous lifestyle. The basic operating cost for the Potter Manor is three hundred thousand galleons a year. This is divided between costs of food, new parts and material for the upkeep of the Manor, and various fertilizers and potions and other assorted necessities for the basement fields. This leaves you with roughly four hundred thousand galleons each year. However, if you wish to throw lavish parties and balls, let me warn you that the basic cost of such an event can easily exceed three hundred thousand galleons. The very best of the parties can go into the tens of millions.

So I advise you to refrain from hosting such events very often.

I will, of course, give you the key to the Potter family vault in Gringotts and the necessary paperwork to dissolve your trust fund so that the small fee paid to the goblins to use the small vault for housing your trust fund will stop sucking up income. I will also prepare annual reports for the last three years so that you might acquaint yourself with all costs that are necessary for a noble family and their seat of power to flourish."

Harry was a bit overwhelmed by all that but he nodded gratefully. He smiled before descending on one knee, "Thank you, Steward. From the way you act, I can tell that you are very loyal to my family. I'm glad to know I have someone to rely on in this…new environment."

Steward, for the first time since he had appeared, smiled in return, "Your kind words do me a great honor, Master Harrison. I believe you require a tour of the manor, correct? While I believe Master Black and Master Lupin would suffice, I think that they may have forgotten some things over the many years since they have last walked these halls."

Harry grinned, "That'd be great!"

Steward inclined his head as his face resumed his previous disposition, "Then we shall start with the foyer."

The House Elf motioned, "The door at the end of the foyer on the eastern wall leads to the ball room. The door opposite, on the western wall, leads to the formal dining hall. The staircases lead upstairs to the second floor commons. The two fireplaces you see here are for all incoming guests. Finally, the statue of Hadrian Potter at the very end of the foyer, under the balcony, leads to the kitchens and House Elf quarters."

Harry asked, "Who's Hadrian Potter?"

Steward answered, "He was the founder and first lord of the Potter family. He was a great warrior and hunter. It was often claimed that his mother must have had a dalliance with a raven because of his black hair and affinity for flying."

Harry smiled at that last tidbit before asking, "So, how do you get past the statue?"

Steward looked at Hermione with an obvious look of distrust. Harry observed, for the first time ever really (except for teachers and other authority figures), Hermione quail under someone's gaze.

Harry, guessing Steward's concern towards Hermione's knowledge of learning how to access the kitchen and House Elf quarters, announced, "I trust Hermione with my life. She is my greatest friend and confidant."

Hermione blushed while Steward did not look entirely pleased with the statement. Nonetheless, Steward answered, "To open the statue, one simply must ask it, 'Where is your horned helm?' The statue will then open."

Harry nodded in understanding before Steward abruptly turned on his heel are started to walk to the door to the dining hall. The door opened before the small servant and Harry rushed to follow as Hermione, Sirius, and Remus filed behind him.

The dining hall was very large; easily matching the Hogwarts' Main Hall in size. The dining hall was much like the outside of the house and foyer. Grey flagstone tiles covered the floor and the walls were a smooth grey. The ceiling high above their heads was arched and also made of smooth grey stone. Five large chandeliers of similar construction to the one in the foyer hung from the ceiling, spaced equaling down the center of the hall.

Underneath the chandeliers was a single massive dark wooden table that stretched almost the entire length of the hall. Only magic could have used to make such an enormous table appear as if carved from a single tree. Large dark wooden straight back chairs with elaborate blue padded embroidery were placed at regular and spacious intervals down the sides of the table. At the end of the table closest to them, there was no chair. At the opposite end of the table, was a single chair. It more closely resembled a throne than any kind of chair Harry or Hermione had ever seen. It was a large wing back chair with a very tall back made from some type of material that shone like gold. Small studs decorated the arms and "wings" on the chair and they seemed to be made out of mother of pearl.

The large arched windows Harry saw the outside let in an abundance of light from the morning sun. They were spaced apart by maybe fifteen feet and stretched from the about three feet above the floor to just shy of the arched ceiling overhead. They ran down both sides of the hall.

At the very end of the hall, there was a single, massive stained glass window that met the floor and extended all the way to the ceiling. It displayed a large red deer possessing a crown of impressive antlers standing proudly with the sunset at its back. The beautiful reds, golds, and oranges captured and amplified all the light that passed through it.

Steward spoke, "This is the formal dining room. It was generally left unused even when Master James and Mistress Lily were alive. It is currently set for one hundred and one people, including the Lord of the manor, but it can sit over one hundred and fifty if required."

Harry and Hermione were in awe as Sirius and Remus smiled at the familiar sight. Harry asked, "Why is it so big?"

Steward answered smoothly, "The manor was built back in the days when it was common for the magical families to have vassals. The Potter family was no exception. This was the place where your family and those loyal to them took their meals. It wasn't until vassals began to fall out of practice that a small informal dining room was constructed in the family apartments.

When the last vassal of the Potter family passed away, the second floor of the manor was actually reconstructed. The second floor was home to eight barracks before they were demolished and suites replaced them. Since then, the formal dining hall has only been used for social gatherings and other special occasions."

Hermione looked ready to ask a question before remembering that she had just greatly upset Steward recently and she was also hurt by how he had rebuked her beliefs and put her down. She held her tongue and looked to the floor.

Steward waited a moment for everyone to finish admiring the room before turning back to the wall behind them. There, closer the front of the house, was the door they had come from, but in the middle of the wall was a great arched tunnel that stretched through to the ballroom on the other side.

Walking through to the ballroom, the four were greeted with quite a sight.

Whereas the outside of the house and the rooms they had seen so far were rather plain, excluding some key features, there had been no expense spared for the ballroom. It matched the size of the dining hall exactly, so it was quite massive. The floor was flawless black marble that reflected like a mirror. The walls and arched ceiling were coated in gold leaf and silver vines wound smoky wave-like patterns on the gold. The arched windows lining the side walls were dressed in gauzy white curtains that danced slowly to silent music.

A single enormous chandelier descended from the center of the ceiling. It was a glittering wonder covered in hanging crystal that reflected and spread the light of the small glowing diamonds embedded into glass skeleton of the chandelier.

Finally, a matching stained glass masterpiece graced the end of the ballroom. It was a rendering of Hadrian Potter standing in his armor with his wand held at ready and his sword held at his side. He was haloed by the moon and the light of the moon was replicated using brilliant whites and silvers while small pieces of midnight blue representing the night sky scattered the streaks of moonlight.

Sirius thought aloud, "I always seem to forget how beautiful this room is until I see it again."

Hermione also commented, "This is amazing! I can only wonder…how much this must have all cost…"

Steward cleared his throat, "The ballroom was constructed at the same time as when the second floor was remade. When it was completed, the ballroom became a new standard for the other noble houses of Britain. Those who could afford the burden of creating something similar quickly did so. Nonetheless, this ballroom is still considered one of the most beautiful in the British Isles."

Harry asked, "What was it before it was a ballroom?"

Steward answered, "Before it was a ballroom, this room was a dueling hall with a variety of training equipment. The men of the Potter family and of the Potter family's vassals would often be found bettering their skills as a warrior here.

However, the ballroom can still function as a training room. The entire room has been shielded from harm so no damage would ruin the decorations. It only takes a few moments to set up all the equipment. Would you like for us to do that for you?"

Sirius answered enthusiastically, "Yes! Yes, we would! Me and Moony here are going to be training up these little devils in some battle magic so we're _definitely_ going to need the training equipment!"

Steward bowed, "Very good, Master Black."

They stood there a moment longer looking at the beautiful room before turning around. In the wall behind them was the tunnel that led to the dining hall but also a wooden door that led back to the foyer. They stepped through the wooden door back into the foyer.

Steward quickly mounted the eastern staircase leading to the balcony. The balcony gave them access to another larger staircase that opened up into the center of the guest commons. The opening in the floor for the staircase was surrounded on three sides by a dark wooden banister to stop any unfortunate accidents.

The guest commons had the same carpet as the foyer staircases and the balcony, dark blue and thick. The walls had returned to the plain smooth grey stone from the foyer and dining hall. The height of the room was normal now and the ceilings were flat. More torches with their flames encased in crystal lined the room, distributing light equally throughout the commons.

The room was split into two parts. The half, towards the back of the house, possessed black leather couches, armchairs, and love seats clustered together in small groups surrounded a central fireplace. The fireplace was nothing more than a stone depression in the floor surrounded by a simple round cage to contain embers and stop children from reaching into it. Big logs had been thrown into the fireplace and flames crackled cheerfully in the empty room. Large square windows gave a view of the field and forest behind the house.

The wall towards the front of the house also had large square windows but where there wasn't a window, there were floor to ceiling bookcases. Bookcases covered the side walls all the way to two hallways branched out of the commons from the center of the room on the eastern and western wall. Three large dark wooden round tables surrounded by padded dark wooden chairs filled this side of the room.

One feature stood out to Harry in the entire room. It was a single floor to ceiling mirror held in a black frame that stood in the center of the back wall of the house.

Steward said, "This is the guest commons. There is nothing particularly remarkable about it. Even the books we have here for the guests are very common and hold very little knowledge that the public does not already know of the Potter family. Most of the books are for more entertainment value than actual knowledge."

The House Elf then motioned to the hallways leading into the eastern and western sides of the manor, "These hallways each lead to eight guest suites; sixteen in total. They are moderately comfortable but are not extravagant. Do you have any question, Master Harrison…or you, Miss?"

Harry shook his head, though he did glance at the mirror again. Hermione bit her lip and also replied in the negative.

Steward nodded, "Very well. Now to the family apartments."

Steward made a beeline for the mirror Harry had been looking at, "This mirror is how one may access the family apartments. Masters Black and Lupin are aware how to utilize the mirror and since you, Master Harrison, have indicated that Miss Granger is your closest confidant then I shall share how to activate the mirror.

To use the mirror, you must recite the Potter family motto, 'The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.'"

From the center of the mirror, a single ripple extended to the frame. Steward walked up to the mirror and then stepped _into_ it. Remus and Sirius casually followed Steward. Harry and Hermione looked at each other. Harry smiled and grabbed Hermione's hand. They walked into the mirror.

They stepped into the Potter family commons. The mirror that they had just walked out of was on the wall towards the front of the house so they were facing the wall towards the back of the house.

The family commons were larger than the guest commons and the color scheme of the family apartments was much different than the rest of the manor. It was much more welcoming and not so…drab. The floor was covered in white carpet and the walls were light beige while the ceiling was plain white. Four "L" shaped skylights made an incomplete square outline on the ceiling surrounding the center of the room. In the middle of the skylights was a single, large, plain metal plate imprinted with a large "P."

The room was divided into two parts. About three fourths of the room was dominated by the white carpet and clusters of brown leather furniture and coffee tables of a similar color. The other fourth, towards the back of the house, was slightly raised on wooden floors. A big dining table matching the wooden floors was surrounded by padded wooden chairs. Compared to the table in the dining hall, the table here that could sit twelve was downright cozy.

Scattered throughout the ceiling were small embedded glowing diamonds just like what was downstairs in the ballroom chandelier. They occurred at regular intervals but their placement seemed random somehow. Much like the guest commons, the family commons had large square windows on the northern and southern walls. Finally, in the center of eastern and western walls, two hallways branched off and led to the suites on this floor.

Steward, once more, started to speak, "This floor, only recently, was subject to some minor reconstruction and redecoration at the behest of Mistress Lily. After Master James' parents passed, may they rest in peace, and Master James and Mistress Lily came to live here for a short time before going into hiding, Mistress Lily was less than happy with the traditional Potter colors, those being grey, blue, and black. She wished to make at least the family apartments more inviting and lighter than the rest of the house.

While we are here, I would simply like to confirm that you, Master Black, and also you, Master Lupin, will both be staying in your old rooms here in the family apartments?"

Sirius nodded while Remus smiled, "Yes, if that's alright with you."

Steward nodded before sighing, "And, I suppose, that you, Miss, would also like to stay in the family apartments…?"

Hermione, now starting to get a bit annoyed with the House Elf, declared, "Yes, I'll be staying here."

Steward's face showed just the slightest bit of distaste before turning to Harry, "Master Harrison, I have already instructed the other House Elves to prepare your room. If you will please follow me, I'll show you to it before continuing on with the rest of the tour."

Harry followed behind Steward as Hermione, Sirius, and Remus filed behind him. Steward led them down the hallway on the western side of the manor. The hallway was decorated the same as the commons and a single row of small glowing diamonds placed into the ceiling lit the corridor.

They passed a pair of doors, one on each side of the hallway, and headed to the end of the hallway where a single door waited. The door opened inward as Steward walked towards it and entered.

What Harry and Hermione saw was not what they expected.

The group had entered a large office. The carpet in the office was not white but a dark red while the walls were covered in elaborate dark wood paneling. On both sides of the room, in the center of the walls, were two small fireplaces big enough for someone to kneel down and make a floo call but not enough for someone to floo through. The fireplaces were made out of white marble which had recently been scrubbed clean.

In the middle of the room was a large wooden desk with clawed feet covered with a pane of thick glass to protect the surface. On top of the desk was an inkwell and a set of three finely made fountain pens. Behind the desk sat a large brown leather wing back chair. Two smaller brown leather armchairs were placed in front of the desk. In the center of the white ceiling was a large skylight directly above the desk.

On the wall behind the desk were two bookcases covering the entire wall except an unmoving portrait directly behind the desk. The painting was of Harry's parents. James stood with a small smile on his face while his hand rested around Lily's waist. Lily also wore a small smile and her greens eyes seemed to sparkle even though it was just a painting. They were both dressed in very nice clothes, his mother in an evening gown and his father in dress robes.

James looked like he could have been Harry's twin, albeit five or so years older when this portrait was made. The only difference being that James possessed rounded hazel eyes. Lily was the image of beauty. Her hair was almost crimson and was lightly curled. It was done up in an elaborate knot in the painting but there were select strands that pooled like fire around her shoulder and neck. Her skin was a perfect even shade of cream. Harry also noticed (he was _not_ checking out his mother) that his mother was also quite curvy. She had almost an hourglass figure.

Harry waited a moment before asking, "Is...the painting not working?"

Steward answered after a moment, sensing Harry's sadness, "There are no magical paintings here in the Potter Manor. It has been a long standing belief in your family that magical paintings of the dead do nothing except to comfort the living. The paintings are nothing more than a mere mockery of those who were living. That is what your family believes."

Harry realized he hadn't seen very many paintings in the house _period_. Saddened by how his sudden hope had been crushed so quickly, Harry swallowed heavily and nodded, "Ah…"

Sensing Harry's disappointment, Steward sighed after a moment before walking around the desk, "The painting is the door into your actual suite. You can set a password on your office door at a later time, Master Black or Master Lupin can show you, and until you choose a password of your own for the painting, its default is the Potter family motto.

'The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.'"

The portrait swung outward and it revealed a short stone passageway.

Steward was about to step through into the passageway when Hermione asked, "What does that mean?"

Steward bristled, still incensed by her accusations of abuse by the Potters, and raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"'The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.' What does it mean?"

Steward saw out of the corner of his eye that Harry was also very curious about the question now that it had been asked. Steward closed his eyes before opening them again, "It means that after you have undertaken all the struggles that life has offered you, all that remains is death to conquer. It has also been a long held belief in the Potter family that to be afraid of death is to be a coward. Death is nothing more than the next step each person must take. So to defeat death, we must accept it and understand that it will happen. We cannot fear it."

Unsure what to say, Hermione nodded in thanks. Steward looked and saw that Harry's curiosity had been sated. Pleased with himself, Steward turned about and entered the stone passageway.

The grouped found themselves in a very open living room. It had readopted the patterns of the family commons with white carpet and ceilings and light beige walls. The western wall, which was the outer wall of the house, was entirely made of glass and gave an absolutely dazzling view of the forest, field, and the lake below.

Black leather furniture was grouped around a glass coffee table in the middle of the room. On the left side of the room (towards the front of the house) in the outer corner of the room was a raised wooden dais with a black grand piano on it. Finally, there were two wooden doors on each side of the room.

The room was rather bare asides from the furniture, doors, and piano.

Steward merely told Harry that this was his living room before turning to the door on the right wall (towards the back of the house). Through the door was a large bathroom.

The floor was covered in big tan tiles while the walls were painted a dusky gold color. On the wall opposite of them (the back wall of the house) was a massive frosted glass window that stretched the entire length of the wall. The ceiling was, once more, just plain white.

On the western wall, there was a simple white porcelain sink and toilet. Above the sink hung a plain oval mirror. Next to the sink, on the opposite side from the toilet, was a standing white cabinet that most likely held toiletries and towels.

On the eastern wall of the room was a white marble dais that had the back half covered in a multitude of brand new, large white candles. Within the dais was a large empty pool that had three large golden taps on one side and two smaller ones on the opposite side.

On the southern wall (towards the front of the house) was a large glass shower that boasted a massive showerhead. The bathroom was more than a little extravagant for Harry's taste but he knew he had nothing to complain about.

Steward explained, "Your cabinet has already been stocked with all the necessary items you will need Master Harrison. Most everything in here is self-explanatory with the exception of your personal pool.

The three large taps on the one side are all for water. Adjust the knobs on top for temperature. You may wonder why there are three taps. That's because it would take a _very_ long time to fill the pool otherwise.

The two smaller taps on the opposite side are for bubbles. One provides foam and the other large bubbles. Your mother said she had loved the prefect washroom at Hogwarts because the pools there had a massive selection of different scented bubbles to choose from. She decided it would be nice to have something like that, although on a much smaller scale."

Harry nodded in understanding.

Hermione asked, "Will it be the same for my room, Steward?"

Steward gave Hermione a bored look, "Yes, Miss. It will be exactly the same as Master Harrison's room."

Hermione replied, "Thank you."

Steward proceeded to ignore her.

Leading the group out of the bathroom, Steward marched straight across the living room to the door on the opposite side. They entered to see a mirror reflection of the bathroom in some aspects.

On the wall opposite from them (the southern wall; towards the front of the house) was a large clear window that went from one end of the wall to the other. The window was draped with white filmy curtains that did a surprisingly good job at keeping out the light of the morning sun. Steward snapped his fingers and the two massive curtains shot away from one another to be tied up on opposite sides of the portal.

The floor was covered in white carpet just like the living room except the walls were a calming blue color. On the western wall of the room was a simple wooden desk that had a bookcase on each side. On the northern wall (towards the back of the house), with the foot facing the window, was a large four poster bed with two sets of curtains; gauzy white inner ones and thick blue outer ones. The bed was covered in a dark blue duvet cover with matching sheets and pillows.

The room seemed shorter than the bathroom and when Harry saw a door on the eastern wall of the room, he hazarded a guess that it was a walk-in closet. This room was, obviously, his bedroom.

Steward announced, "I will be taking your measurements this evening Master Harrison and shall commission a new wardrobe for you that is appropriate for one of your status."

Harry was suddenly very aware of his very large and ragged hand-me-downs from the Dursleys. He was somewhat surprised when Sirius cleared his throat, "Let's hold off on that for a few days, Steward. We have some…things we need to discuss."

Steward arced an eyebrow, "I fail to see how a discussion is necessary to create a new wardrobe."

Sirius firmly said, "Nonetheless, we'll hold off for a few days."

Steward looked to Harry before slowly nodding, "Very well."

Sirius gave Steward a small smile while Harry could only wonder what Sirius was up to.

Steward started walking out of the bedroom, "Miss, you can choose which room you will be staying in at a later time. For now, we'll be heading up to the library and then down to the basement."

Steward's pace was awe inspiring for someone of such a small stature as he lead them out of the suite and back towards the family commons. The House Elf stopped just short of the center of the commons, not quite under the metal plate on the ceiling.

Steward spoke in a clear voice, "Hadrian's legacy of battle."

Without warning, the plate in the ceiling smoothly descended and settled gently on the carpet in front of them. Steward stepped on followed immediately by Sirius and Remus. They looked expectantly at the two teenagers who were looking at the large plate with something less than trust.

They eyed it for a moment before stepping on. Steward then said, "Up."

The plate immediately ascended and the group found themselves in large room.

Floor to ceiling bookcases literally lined the sides of the room and eight rows of two floor to ceiling bookcases filled the center of the room excluding a small space between rows four and five in which the elevator plate stood and a set of rails spiraled around the plate upward through a circular opening in the ceiling above them. The floor of the library was covered with dark blue carpet and the ceiling was unpainted wood. Floating lanterns near the ceiling provided a steady blue light that banished all the shadows in the library.

Steward stepped off the plate, between the rails, and informed Harry, and Hermione to a lesser extent, "The password to the library is 'Hadrian's legacy of battle.' To activate the plate, simply say, 'Up.' To exit the library, you only have to stand on the plate and say, 'Down.'

There are quite a few books here in the library and there are three floors. The first floor, which we're on, covers mostly subjects that you cover at Hogwarts. Mostly basic and advanced texts but nothing mastery level.

The second covers, for the most part, battle magic. There are books on theory, spell creation, basic, advanced, and mastery texts, and strategy. Anything related to battle magic and combat is found on that floor.

On the third floor, the selection isn't as wide. Most of the books on that floor are for research, theory, and other resources for obscure magic and legends."

Steward then led them deeper into the library. Behind the rows of books and in one of the corners of the library was a large mirror that most people could walk through easily. Steward said, "This is the mirror down to the basement level where the potions ingredients are grown. The password is, 'To the dungeons.'"

A ripple extended from the center of the mirror.

Steward continued, "However, we'll skip over that for now."

The House Elf led them back to the center of the room by the set of rails, "This is how you may go from one floor of the library to the other. There is a single platform that uses these rails that will take you from level to level.

Platform; first floor."

A square platform stretched between the rails descended silently and smoothly from the floors above. It settled to the ground in front them.

They stepped onto the platform before Steward announced, "Platform; second floor."

The platform ascended along the rails before quickly arriving at the second floor. The second floor of the library was an exact replica of the first floor. Steward commanded, "Platform; third floor."

The platform obeyed and it ascended to the last floor.

The third floor had all its walls lined in book much like the two lower floors but it lacked the rows of bookcases in the middle of the room. Instead, a great number of simple desks, tables, and comfortable chairs littered the center of the room with a group of two couches and two armchairs facing each other off to the side. There were no floating blue lanterns but instead a mural of the sun stretched across a stone ceiling and it was just as bright as the real sun. In the corner of the room was a ladder that stretched over the bookcase and led to a trapdoor in the ceiling.

Steward informed them, "The ladder in the corner leads to the top of the tower. This concludes our tour of the manor. Would you now to go down to the basement level?"

Sirius replied, "We're good, Steward."

Steward nodded, "Very well. Is there anything any of you require of me?"

Harry and Hermione exchanged looks before turning to Remus and Sirius. Sirius, seeing that they didn't have any question, responded, "No, we're fine, Steward. Thanks for the memory refresher! Moony and me'll take it from here!"

Steward bowed to the group before disappearing in a _crack_!

Remus let out a sigh as Sirius scratched his head, "Do you remember what that one House Elf's name was?"

Remus asked, "Which one?"

Sirius clarified, "The one who works here in the library."

Lupin closed his eyes in thought, "I think his name was…Biblio?"

Sirius screwed up his face, "_Biblio_? Are you sure?"

Remus shrugged, "Only one way to find out…"

Sirius groaned, "Alright then… _Biblio!_"


	7. Chapter 7

_A.N.: Sorry for the long wait, peoples. I forgot to post this last weekend and when I remembered to, I never got around to it. My bad! Anyway, some of you were disappointed with the last chapter. Understandable as the house more or less dominated the chapter. It's one of my quirks. I'm very detail oriented. Anyway, we'll start getting into the backstory of this story in this chapter. Enjoy!_

**Gan 'Edhen**

**Last Time:**

_**Remus let out a sigh as Sirius scratched his head, "Do you remember what that one House Elf's name was?"**_

_**Remus asked, "Which one?"**_

_**Sirius clarified, "The one who works here in the library."**_

_**Lupin closed his eyes in thought, "I think his name was…Biblio?"**_

_**Sirius screwed up his face, "Biblio? Are you sure?"**_

_**Remus shrugged, "Only one way to find out…"**_

_**Sirius groaned, "Alright then… Biblio!"**_

**Chapter 6: Books, Bibles, and Blasphemy**

With a quiet _pop_, another House Elf appeared before the quartet.

He was older and slightly hunched over. He was dressed the same as Steward but he wore a gentle smile underneath his long nose. His ears stretched out to the sides like most House Elves' ears did and a copious amount of hair protruded from the insides of the extremities. His lidded eyes crinkled with joy as he croaked, "Master Sirius! Master Remus! It has been much too long!"

Sirius smiled back as Remus replied, "Indeed it has. I'm afraid that this isn't a simple social call, Biblio…"

The old House Elf smiled knowingly and his dark eyes twinkled in a Dumbledore-esque fashion as he looked towards Harry, "Yes. Yes, I can see that this is, no doubt, something of great importance. Do you require that same book that you had searched for back in your days as a student? …It's been over twenty years since then…but it's the only reason I can think why you would require my assistance; other than general library knowledge but I doubt that's the reason why you'd call me…"

Remus nodded, "You're correct. We need the same book."

Biblio tapped his chin, "My memory has become cloudy as of late. What was the book called again?"

Sirius answered for Remus, "_Gan 'Edhen_."

Biblio smiled, "That would be the one… I remember that it was up here, on the third floor. Let me just take a moment to remember…"

Biblio stood there for a moment, face crinkled in thought before his eyes lit up. He _popped_ away only to reappear with a _crack_ at one of the many bookshelves in the room. Defying his old age, Biblio quickly scaled the bookcases and started climbing here and there searching for the text. After searching five shelves, the old House Elf crowed, "Ah ha!" He withdrew a book from the shelf before _popping_ back to them.

Biblio bowed and presented the book to them, "I believe this is what you're looking for."

In his leathery hands was a small book, no larger than a diary. It was bound in red leather and burned into the leather was the title _Gan 'Edhen_.

It was very simple and didn't seem too important yet when Sirius took the book, he handled it with all the care that a father might take for their newborn child. The escaped prisoner smiled, "Perfect…"

Remus smiled as well, "Thank you, Biblio. That'll be all."

Biblio bowed and disappeared once more.

Sirius walked to the group of couches and armchairs off to the side of the room and settled onto one of the couches. Remus followed behind him and sat down in one of the armchairs. Harry and Hermione glanced at each other before they both sat down on the remaining couch.

Sirius was flipping through the pages of the book without actually reading and Remus sat there quietly. Hermione and Harry waited for one of them to say something but the silence stretched on until finally Hermione asked, "So what's Edhen?"

Sirius stopped flipping pages as Lupin looked toward Hermione. She squirmed a bit under the silence before Sirius said, "…It's where we're going once we've finished preparations here."

Hermione, put off by the evasive explanation, "Where is it?"

Sirius waved, "One can't just _give_ directions to Edhen."

Hermione huffed, "Then _how_ are we going to get there?"

Sirius smirked, seeing that he had gotten under her skin, "The real question: Why are we going to Edhen?"

A short pause filled the room before Harry asked, "Why then?"

Sirius looked at him, "I thought you would know since you've had those dreams."

"They never said _why_ or _what_ or _anything_ for that matter. Just some riddles…"

Sirius' smile fell and he took a breath before releasing, "We're going for the same reason that we did twenty years ago when your mother, your father, and I first went."

Harry's eyes widened, "You've been there before!?"

Remus coughed, "I haven't…"

Harry looked at Lupin sharply and then back at Sirius.

Sirius shook his head, "The reason we're going is…dammit, Harry! …It's hard to explain…

I had this whole conversation mapped out in my head and I've been prepared to tell you all this but now that it's here…"

Harry, getting frustrated now, shouted, "Then just spit it out!"

Sirius, irritated with himself and the situation, shouted back, "I don't know where to start!"

Remus interjected, "_The beginning!_"

Harry and Sirius looked at Remus with surprise. Lupin repeated with an inside voice, "The beginning. That's usually the best place to start…"

Sirius sighed, "But there are so many parts to begin from."

Lupin smiled, "Then _I'll_ tell them."

Sirius opened his mouth to respond but seemed to think better of it and simply nodded and readjusted himself on his couch.

Harry calmed down as well and looked at Remus expectantly.

Lupin looked at Harry and then at Hermione before asking, "What do you know about your mother's family, Harry?"

Harry hesistated, not seeing the connection to anything they were talking about, "Uh…Aunt Petunia is my mum's older sister… That's it. I don't know anything else really…"

Remus nodded, "Well… Petunia is not your mother's sister."

Harry blinked, "…What?"

Lupin explained, "Your mother didn't have any siblings. She was an only child. An accident left her in an orphanage barely a month old. Mister and Misses Evans, a very kind and loving couple who had just had their first child, dropped by out of curiosity and fell in love with Lily.

Your mother was adopted Harry."

Harry stared at Lupin for a moment and his eyes started to burn. All those years of torment and hatred and he wasn't even related to the Dursleys?

That was…horrible.

Harry blinked away the slight blur in his sight before asking, "…How do you know all this? And why? …Really, I should be asking what does this have to do with anything?"

Remus, seeing that Harry was upset by this news, quickly continued, "Well, we know most of it because your mother had the same dreams that you had. It's not supposed to happen often but it did for her and now for you. The other way we know is because Lily confronted the Evans and found out the truth before she finally went to Edhen.

And why this had to do with everything is because your mother was from Edhen. Your _mother's_ _family_ is from Edhen. And the reason we have to go back there is because…you'll be experiencing…some changes."

Hermione squeaked, "Changes?"

Remus reaffirmed, "Changes."

Harry asked, "What exactly are these…changes…?"

Sirius, getting worked up again, jumped to his feet, "Enough beating around the bush, Remus! Harry was right! It's better just to spit it out!" Turning to Harry, Sirius announced, "The reason we have to go to Edhen is because _you're not human_, Harry!"

Stunned silence descended upon the room. Harry was slack jawed and Hermione's eyes had gone wide. Remus was massaging his temples, obviously exasperated with his friend's less than tactful presentation.

Harry stammered, "W-w-what!?"

Sirius started to rant, "You're not human! Jeez, I wanted to make this a bit easier but there's just no way to put this gently!"

Hermione jumped to her feet, "But just _look_ at him! There's no way Harry _isn't_ human! This is just some cruel joke you've come up with and you're taking the mickey out on Harry!"

Harry nodded numbly in shock while his mind contemplated the endless possibilities of what would happen if what Sirius said was true.

Sirius, red in the face from being called a liar, shouted back, "_Why would I_…-"

Remus interjected with his wand drawn, "_Langlock!_"

Sirius felt his tongue glue itself to the roof of his mouth and he could no longer talk. Lupin flicked his wand again and Sirius was thrown back on the couch and he felt his arms and legs fasten themselves to his sides as he went rigid as a board.

Remus pointed his wand at Hermione and the young woman found herself pushed back down to the couch she was sharing with Harry and her clothes were stuck to the back of the couch.

Remus holstered his wand once more and sighed, "Now, let's all just _calm down_."

He looked pointedly at Sirius and then Hermione. His gaze drifted over to Harry and saw that the young man was pale faced and his eyes were unfocused. Remus sighed again, a habit was forming it seemed, and resumed his seat.

After a moment, the werewolf cleared his throat. He saw Harry look up at him with a lost look on his face before Remus spoke, "While his method of delivery was lacking, Sirius was not lying. At this moment in time, you're body, mind, soul, and magic are human but that will change.

You don't need to worry about becoming some kind of a monster. Your people are civilized, upstanding beings who are very selfless. It's probably where you inherited that reckless attitude that compels you to help people even if you put yourself in danger."

Harry asked, "If I'm not human…then _what am I_?"

Remus held Harry gaze for a long time and didn't say a word. Harry felt his will come back to him. He could feel the steel within his gaze as he wordlessly challenged Remus. Finally, Lupin looked down and closed his eyes. He said, "They're called Wyrmkin. That's what you are, a Wyrmkin."

Harry's eyebrows drew together, "What are they...?"

"The Wyrmkin are guardians of the Silent Forest within Edhen. They're very powerful. They also act as the peace keepers all throughout Edhen when the local populace feels that it is beyond their capabilities."

Hermione asked, "Where is this Edhen you keep talking about? I've never heard of it and from the way you talk about it, it sounds bigger than just some city…"

Remus withdrew his wand and released Sirius, who sat up but kept quiet, before answering, "Edhen is in a separate realm than this one. It's an entire _planet_. They refer to this plane of existence and to the earth as _Terra_."

Hermione was speechless and Harry asked, "How do we get there then?"

"Through a method that is tried and true for crossing between the two realms. I'll hold off from telling you for now. You'll see it in action when the time comes."

"Then tell me about Edhen, the Wyrmkin, and…just _everything_."

Remus nodded and turned to Sirius, "Read the book to them."

Sirius didn't argue and just nodded. He held up the book Biblio had handed to him and announced, "This book is about not only the creation of Edhen but also of earth. Believe it or call it a load of crock, I don't care. This is the only book in the entire _world_ that is about Edhen… Frankly, if it weren't for this book, Remus and Lily would have probably never figured how to get to Edhen.

I'm not going to stop once I start reading this. Hold any questions to the end."

Sirius flipped to the first page and cleared his throat he started, "In the beginning, before the world of Edhen or Terra came into existence, or the kingdom of heaven, or the chasm of hell; there was darkness and the deep...

**The Nameless God floated above the deep. He said, "**_**Let there be light…**_**" Light came into existence but it was erratic and without control. It warred with the darkness, which in light's presence became chaos incarnate. The Nameless God brought into existence a being that would control and embody these two warring elements.**

**And so, the first of five came into existence. He was a neither man nor woman yet perfect in appearance possessing amber eyes. He screamed in pain as the elements he embodied fought within him. The Nameless God seeing this put him into a deep sleep. He saw now that He would need to separate the two elements and put them in separate vessels.**

**So He took from this being, one of the elements. He took the element of order. The being awoke from his slumber with eyes like blood, kneeled before the Nameless God, and swore, "I live to serve you, Creator."**

**The Creator smiled and said unto him, "**_**Rise for I am your Father, rise my child. You shall be known as Sataniel.**_**" The Creator then brought another being into existence to embody order that was neither man nor woman yet perfect in appearance possessing golden eyes. The being also swore a similar oath to the Creator and the Creator spoke, "**_**You shall be known as Michael, my child.**_**"**

**The Creator then turned to Sataniel, "**_**You represent the element of chaos. Preserve the dark I call 'night.'**_**" To the Michael, He said, "**_**You represent the element of order. Preserve the light I call 'day.'**_**" The Creator then turned to the rest of his work. A day had passed.**

**He said to the deep, "**_**Let there be an expanse between waters to separate water from water…**_**" The harmony within the expanse was calming but needed constant attention. He created a being that embodied this harmony. He was neither man nor woman but was perfect in appearance possessing silver eyes. He kneeled and swore to the Creator. The Creator told him, "**_**Rise my child. From this day forward, you shall be known as Gabriel. You embody the element of harmony. Preserve the peace within this expanse I call 'sky.'**_**" Gabriel nodded and joined his brothers. Another day had passed.**

**The Creator next said, "**_**Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear…**_**" The water was gathered and ground appeared. The water tried to overtake the ground and ground rose above water. The Creator, seeing these two elements battle, created two beings.**

**They were both neither man nor woman yet perfect in appearance with one possessing blue eyes and the other possessing black eyes. They both swore to the Creator. The Creator smiled and said, "**_**Rise, my children.**_**" The Creator turned to the being with blue eyes and said, "**_**You shall be known as Raphael. You embody the element of love. Preserve the waters that I call 'seas.'**_**" The Creator turned to the being with black eyes, "**_**You shall be known as Samael. You represent the element of war. Preserve the ground I call 'land.'**_**" The two joined their siblings.**

**The Creator now turned to His creation below. He saw the light and dark; the expanse; and the seas and land. He broke down the physical elements of this place.**

**He summoned the beings and said to Sataniel, "**_**My child, you will now represent the element of fire along with chaos.**_**" The Creator turned to Michael, "**_**My child, you will now represent the element of lightning along with order.**_**" The Creator turned to Gabriel, "**_**My child, you will now represent the element of air along with harmony.**_**" The Creator turned to Raphael, "**_**My child, you will now represent the element of water along with love.**_**" The Creator turned to Samael, "**_**My child, you will now represent the element of earth along with war.**_**" The Creator addressed all of them, "**_**Control and govern your elements, my children. Know that you are all equal to one another and only I am above you. From this day forth you shall be known as the Five Instruments for through you I have created this world.**_**"**

**The Five Instruments thanked the Creator and left Him to His work. The Creator then said, "**_**Let the land and water produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants that bear fruit with seed within, according to their various kinds…**_**" The land filled with plants and trees that were full of fruit filled with seeds according to their various kinds. The water flowed with plants that filled with bulbs and seeds according to their various kinds. Another day had passed.**

**The Creator said, "**_**Let there be lights within the expanse of the sky that separate day from night and seasons from seasons and days from days and years from years. Let these lights in the expanse shine down on the earth…**_**" And so the Creator made a greater light to signify day and a lesser light to signify night. He made the stars that separated night from day and light from darkness. Another day had passed.**

**The Creator said, "**_**Let the waters and expanse fill with life and increase their numbers and fill the earth according to their various kinds.**_**" The birds flew through the sky and the fish swam in the waters. Another day had passed.**

**The Creator said, "**_**Let the land fill with beasts that move along the ground and let them become numerous according to its various kinds…**_**" With that, the land filled with animals that crept along its surface. Another day had passed.**

**The Five Instruments, seeing the wonders their Creator had made, asked to make a world of their own. The Creator saw their innocence and awe at His creation and said, "**_**Yes, you may.**_**"**

**The Five Instruments set to work. They made a world of similar properties on a separate plane of existence. As they toiled, the Creator watched them. They made a world larger than His and gave it a greater light much larger than His to signify day and three lesser lights instead of one to signify night.**

**The Creator had intended to make a species in His image He would call man, but instead, He watched His children. His heart warmed as they strived to be like Him, like a child would strive to be like their father. Soon, it came time to create the plants and animals that would fill this world. They asked Him permission to use His creations. He agreed, curious what they would do.**

**They took many of his creatures and let them populate their land. The Five Instruments then combined their physical and emotional elements into one. This element then instead of being destructive or caring, it was indifferent; instead of being unstable and volatile, it was steady. It had no reason to harm or to heal. The Five Instruments named it Da'at.**

**The Five Instruments planted the new element into the earth and a great tree came into being. It bore two fruit with great power. One had the power to strip the Da'at from whatever ate of it and the other would grant whatever ate of it great power. The Five Instruments commanded all creatures to never eat of the tree that they called the Heart Tree.**

**Da'at bonded with the entire land; beast, plant, and stone alike. Plants and beasts now grew stronger and larger and could heal as well as harm. Now they came to the same place as the Creator was. They wanted to create a sovereign species. At first, they tried to create a sovereign species separately.**

**It was after many failures they came to the same conclusion. They would have to work together. And so they debated about what the sovereign species should be like. The Creator watched the Five Instruments as they argued. He grew happy when they appeared to agree on something.**

**They created a massive beast twelve cubits tall and twenty-four cubits long. They gave it the head of a lizard with eyes of a snake, teeth of a meat eater, and a crown of horns for it was to be king of all Edhen. They gave it the body of a wolf, wings of a bat as long as its body, and the talons of birds for its feet. Over all of this, they gave it armor of scales. They then imbued it with more Da'at than any animal they had before. Then they each took a fifth of this species and imbued them with their physical elements. When they finished with their creation, they called it dragon and unleashed it on their world.**

**The order was then usurped and chaos took its place. The dragons hunted and killed anything that moved. Feeding on all creatures for it was the sovereign species. The Five Instruments then realized their folly; they had created a beast that was powerful enough to rule over their world but had not given it any sense of mind. All it knew was the thrill of the hunt.**

**The Five Instruments went to control the dragons but they were too powerful. It had taken five to create the dragons but only three were able to face the dragons. Michael and Raphael had grown weak with the chaos and hate and could not exert their will. Gabriel was weakened but mustered the will to combat the dragons. Sataniel and Samael were overflowing with power because of the chaos and war but they struggled not to lose themselves to it.**

**It was this condition in which the Creator stopped the dragons. He said to the Five Instruments, "**_**You realize your foolishness, yes? Let this be a lessoned learned. I will take the dragons to earth where my power will forever contain them and keep them in check.**_**"**

**With that, the Creator and the dragons were gone. It was a great while before the Five Instruments spoke to one another. When they did, they spoke of what they learned from this event. They believed they owed the Creator an apology. They asked for His forgiveness and He gave it. It was during this when the issue of sovereign species was brought up. The Five Instruments had discussed it and asked another boon of the Creator. "Creator, would you allow us to create a sovereign species in your image?" said Michael. The Creator smiled and said, "**_**I had planned on it myself but I give you permission to do this for me.**_**" The Five Instruments thanked Him and set to work.**

**They set out to making a man from scratch. They used earth and water to create his body, air to give him life, and fire and lightning to give him the spark of thought and consciousness. He was among the weakest of creatures of their creations. They gave him sense of right and wrong. Before releasing him into the world, they compared him to other creatures. He would die. All of their creations would kill him without a thought. He was practically defenseless.**

**So, reluctantly, the Five Instruments imbued him with Da'at. He changed dramatically. He grew larger, stronger, and smarter. They imagined what he would be like if he was released into their world. He would be a hard worker, take a plot of land for his own, and raise a family. And so they released him and he did just as predicted. He worked hard to create a safe haven for himself and made himself a home. He used Da'at to do many things that he otherwise would not be able to.**

**They gave the man a final warning to never eat from the Heart Tree before rewarding him for doing as they predicted and being such a good worker. They made him a wife and they flourished. The humans grew numerous and expanded. The Five Instruments started to notice some humans were very violent and chaotic; though not one ever dared to disobey the Five Instruments and stayed away from the Heart Tree. **

**They asked the Creator if He knew why the humans would become violent. "**_**You made humans using both your physical and emotional elements. They have the ability to think and choose for themselves. They also seem to be easily swayed. This means they cannot be all peaceful or all violent. They are unique because they can make a choice.**_**"**

**And so, time passed. During this time the Five Instruments named their creation Edhen. The humans had also taken to naming things. They had named all animals and plants they came across. This list only increased with each passing day.**

**It was also during this time when Samael decided that the humans were too peaceful and uninteresting. He decided that to make them more exhilarating, they needed to become more in touch with their instincts. He tried without success to influence a group of humans to become in touch with their instincts without being noticed by his siblings, but it was no use.**

**It was too subtle of a difference. So he decided he would create a new species. He went through the world gathering one spirit from each animal species and then took one hundred humans and took out a piece of each of their spirits and let an animal spirit settle into a human that fit them best. This new species went feral and ran into the wilderness. By the time the other four Instruments realized what Samael had done, it was too late. They imprisoned Samael for a time and examined this new species.**

**They were human-like except their forms were covered in markings and their bodies took on aspects of their animal spirit. They were stronger and faster and their Da'at had changed. Their Da'at now was used entirely for change. They were able to physically change into beasts.**

**The Instruments named them Beastkin for they were like animals; attacking humans, animals, and one another. It took the remaining four Instruments to give the Beastkin a sense of right and wrong. It was bent and twisted due to the fact that they were like animals with human forms but it civilized them enough to have some sense of society. It had allowed them to relearn the human tongue and not attack all who crossed their paths.**

**After this, the Five Instruments swore to not tamper with the human race again. When Samael was released from imprisonment, he apologized to his siblings and the Creator. The Creator said unto him, "**_**Since you have created them, these Beastkin are your responsibility. You must look after them and make sure they do not stray and become wild animals like they did.**_**"**

**Samael had created the second sovereign species of Edhen.**

**During this time, when chaos took hold, Sataniel felt alive again. He had been growing weaker and weaker as order in Edhen grew stronger. He dared not speak to his siblings or the Creator because they may call him selfish. So he kept quiet for many years. As he grew weaker and weaker, he knew he would cease to exist soon. He devised a plan to do something he had sworn not to for he feared nonexistence and bided his time.**

**It was many years later, when Sataniel knew his death was imminent when he felt that his siblings had lowered their guard and the Creator was in His own realm that he struck. He created small human-like creatures that he had considered making when the Five Instruments had first contemplated making a sovereign species. They stood at three cubits tall and despised the light. They dwelt mostly under the surface and had an appetite for raw flesh.**

**The humans, while surprised at first, could deal with them if prepared and called them Emim. The other four Instruments rushed to try and understand their creation. Seeing that his siblings were distracted, Sataniel created a serpent that was immune to the power of the Heart Tree and possessed it. He wished for the serpent to eat of the fruit that would take away a creature's Da'at so that it could take upon the fruits' power. However, Sataniel knew that he could not physically touch the tree for his siblings would feel his presence. He waited by the Heart Tree and found a naïve woman that had come to visit it out of curiosity.**

**He spoke to her through the serpent, "Do you not wish to eat of the tree?"**

**The woman spoke, "It is forbidden to eat of the tree."**

**The serpent replied, "I did not know. Can I at least look closely upon one of the fruits? Would you not aid me and pull one down?"**

**The woman did not see Sataniel's deceit and plucked from the tree the fruit he desired.**

**She placed the fruit on the ground and he crawled to the fruit as if to better look upon it before taking a bite of the fruit. Sataniel felt the fruit's power to take away Da'at filled the serpent's body and fled as the woman tried to kill the serpent for tricking her.**

**Sataniel then made the serpent multiply and sent them out into the land. The creatures, cunning in their thinking, only preyed upon the very young. **

**The rest of Instruments were unaware of the cause as newborns all over the land began to lose their Da'at. Finally, they discovered the serpents that the humans named nahash. They would not destroy the serpents but they also could not grant back the human children Da'at because they had sworn not to tamper with the human race. The Instruments were at an impasse.**

**Sataniel used the chaos of this event to carry out the rest of his plan. He took twenty humans; ten men, ten women and changed them. He turned their skin grey like stone and made them nine cubits tall and three cubits wide and he made their strength and rage unparalleled. Sataniel took away his half of the light that gave humans their consciousness and they became animals that would kill and devour everything in their paths. The one mercy Sataniel gave was that he took away these creatures' Da'at so that they would only be able to rely on their natural abilities. With this done, he released these beasts into the wilderness of Edhen.**

**The beasts had no sense of being but were extremely smart. They quickly learned that humans were one of the physically weakest creatures on the planet and could sate their appetite. These beasts caught the humans off guard and killed and maimed indiscriminately. It took little time for the other four Instruments to figure out what happened. They went and confronted Sataniel. When he was questioned why he had unleashed such evil onto the land, all he said was, "I wanted to live."**

**He was put into an eternal slumber which continues to this very day. Sataniel had knowingly put the whole of Edhen at risk and had to pay for it. Sataniel had also created the third sovereign race of Edhen.**

**The Instruments, that now numbered four, dubbed these creatures Rephaim.**

**With the Rephaim now in the world of Edhen, the Instruments knew the humans without Da'at would be a liability. They would not be able to save themselves and would be easy prey for the Rephaim. So the Instruments asked the Creator if He would accept all the humans that did not have Da'at. The Creator gladly agreed.**

**And so a group of almost one hundred humans without Da'at and a guard of human with Da'at were transported to Terra. The descendants of those humans would be protected from the truth of their creation as it would be too dangerous for them to learn of Edhen and try to return. All humans without Da'at from that day forth were sent to Terra for Edhen was now much too dangerous.**

**Even with the Terrans, the name used for humans without Da'at, gone and any new ones found taken to earth; the damage the Rephaim did was amazing and too often humans and Beastkin alike found themselves with injuries too deadly to heal. Raphael requested to be released from his oath to create a race that would be skilled enough in the art of healing that they would be able to save any who came before them.**

**He was released from his oath and his request was granted, and so, he started on his quest. He, being of the water, decided to make his people the same. He took fifty humans, twenty-five men, twenty-five women, and changed them. He armored their skin with fish scales and allowed them to breathe like fish. **

**He then realized that human clothes would slow down his people in the water and made it so they would not have a need to cover themselves for modesty. Raphael gave these creatures compassion and love of all living things but a fierce hatred of desecrators of life. He also made it so they could heal most any injury and control the movement and form of water.**

**Raphael named his people Merkin. With the creation of the Merkin, they saved many humans and Beastkin alike. Raphael had created the fourth sovereign race of Edhen. **

**It did little to stop the reign of the Rephaim as it seemed there were more killings every day. They seemed to be increasing in number and they would not stop. To the Instruments, it seemed like the dragons all over again. The only difference is that the Instruments now had an idea what to do about it. The last two Instruments, Gabriel and Michael, now saw that in order to turn the tides of this massacre, they would need to create a species of their own.**

**They both requested to be relieved of their oaths. They requests were granted and Gabriel and Michael immediately went to work. Gabriel had some idea what he wanted to do. Michael did not. **

**Gabriel wanted to create a species that would be unlike the others and would be able to combat the Rephaim directly. He wanted for them to have the ability to create things. Not by hand, but by thought. To will into existence whatever they wished. To do this, he needed permission from the Creator. "Creator, I would like to request something for the species I am creating."**

**The Creator said unto Gabriel, "**_**Speak, my child, ask of me what you will.**_**"**

**Gabriel replied, "I would like for my species to be able to create."**

**The Creator asked, "**_**Would they have restrictions?**_**"**

"**They will be unable to create life for that is restricted to you, Creator, and those you give permission to."**

**The Creator said, "**_**I find your conditions reasonable, you have my permission.**_**"**

**So Gabriel took one hundred humans, fifty man, fifty women, and gave them the ability to create and, lest sword, poison, or creature kill them, immortality. Their ascension to near divinity changed them and they became more beautiful than any human. **

**Gabriel called his creations Celestials. He divided the Celestials into four and gave each of the Instruments, excluding Sataniel, Celestials to be their messengers. The Celestial's allegiance was announced from a mark upon their forehead at birth; a sun, a star, a crescent moon, or a full moon. They were ideal for this purpose as they could create clouds upon which they flew. **

**Gabriel had created the fifth sovereign race of Edhen. The Celestials helped immensely but could only do so much. The Rephaim continued growing in number and they were slowly adapting to the Celestials' fighting style. There seemed to be no hope at all.**

**Michael could only think of the dragons as he meditated about the Rephaim and what he could do. The only difference between the dragons and Rephaim was that only one of the Instruments had a hand in making these beasts, this meant the Creator would not help, and that the Rephaim were also taking longer to overrun all of Edhen, unlike the dragons.**

**It was at that moment Michael knew what he would create to beat the Rephaim. He came before the Creator, "Almighty Creator, I beg of you to let me use the dragons to make my creation."**

**The Creator asked, "**_**Why do you need to use the dragons, my child? They are extremely powerful; too powerful to be controlled by you alone.**_**"**

"**I need the essence of the dragons to combat the Rephaim."**

**The Creator asked, "**_**What do you intend to do with the essence of the dragons?**_**"**

"**I intend to imbue them into a group of humans so they might be greater than the Rephaim!"**

**The Creator chided, "**_**You plan on fighting one force you and your brethren have difficulty fighting with a force you cannot hope to stop? This is madness you speak.**_**"**

**Michael pleaded, "I will do all I can so that the humans do not fall to the animal mind of the dragon."**

**The Creator said, "**_**You cannot do that on your own.**_**"**

**Michael replied, "I shall request a favor from my brethren to assist me. I only plan on using the five most powerful dragons on Terra."**

**The Creator listened to Michael and granted His permission after much discussion.**

**And so Michael entered the realm of Terra and took away from it the essence of five dragons; one of each element. He placed the essences into a flawless crystal orb carved with thousands of facets. He returned to Edhen and summoned the other Instruments.**

"**Why have you summoned us, Michael? We are in our most desperate hour and need to give all of our power to our people," said Raphael.**

"**I suspect we were called here for an important reason," said Gabriel.**

**Michael said unto his siblings, "Dear brothers, I request a favor of you. I ask of you help me with the creation of my people that will be able to drive back the Rephaim."**

**Samael replied, "Gabriel said his Celestials would be capable of defeating the Rephaim but they've failed."**

**Michael said, "Gabriel did not have the essence of dragons to imbue within his people."**

**Raphael stated, "The Creator would never allow you to use dragon essence."**

**Michael said, "I have asked Him and He has approved. All I ask is that you help me control the dragons' power as I create my people and also that you allow my people to use all of the physical elements."**

**Gabriel replied, "Our people are dying already and it's inevitable they will all die soon. I will aid you."**

**Raphael opposed, "And what if Michael's creation only kills our people faster?"**

**Samael said, "At this rate, they will die regardless. I will aid Michael."**

**Raphael relinquished, "I am outnumbered. Very well."**

**The Instruments gave Michael's future people permission to use the physical elements as they saw fit and promised to return when they were required.**

**Michael then gathered together a hundred humans and exerted his will, changing their age to a day before their fifteenth birthday. He summoned his siblings and the Instruments replaced the Da'at of the humans with that of a dragon's and their human essence with dragon essence. With their promise fulfilled, the other Instruments left.**

**The humans had changed very little physically but they were very strong and fast. They could fly through the air without any wings and their Da'at shielded them from most harm. They possessed the strength of the Infernal Wyrm and their rage was an even greater sight to behold than that of the Rephaim.**

**Michael named his people Wyrmkin. With the Wyrmkin, the tides of battle turned.**

**Michael also possessed a great deal of unused dragon essence. Seeing the opportunity, he fused the essences into a single spirit and gave the spirit within the white crystal great wisdom, judgment, and power to make shades of itself. He gifted the crystal to a clan of the Wyrmkin as they had shown great leadership and skill and commanded them to guide the rest of the Wyrmkin with the help of the spirit.**

**When the rest of the other Instruments found out what he had done, they questioned his reasoning until he showed them the good that the spirit could do. Michael requested that the Instruments grant the shades of the spirit the ability to cross between the realms so as to ferry the humans with no Da'at to Terra.**

**His siblings agreed with his idea and willed for the spirit to be able to travel between the two worlds. With the shades of the spirit now finding and safely carrying the new Terrans to earth, the Instruments could fully focus on helping their peoples combat the Rephaim.**

**As the hordes of Rephaim fell before the combined might of the humans, Beastkin, Merkin, Celestials, and Wyrmkin; the different races gathered and planned to eradicate the Rephaim once and for all. As they prepared for their final battle, the Instruments knew they could not allow all of the Rephaim to be killed for that meant the death of Sataniel and they now knew that their peoples would be able to defend themselves from this threat, if it ever rose again.**

**And so the allies launched their attack and they fought with all their might against the Rephaim. The Rephaim did not go easily; they killed as many as they could before succumbing to death. The battle raged on for days. When the last of the Rephaim were about to die, the army of humans, Beastkin, Merkin, Celestials, and Wyrmkin were taken from the battlefield to the Greater Plains surrounding Cloud Tip. The Instruments then descended and spoke through their Celestials and explained to the warriors why the Rephaim would live. Many warriors did not understand and still questioned why but the Instruments were firm in their judgment.**

**The Instruments took a section of the Guardian Forest surrounding the Heart Tree and made the trees become larger and darker. They took the remaining Rephaim and placed them within the new forest and kept them imprisoned there for a time. The Instruments charged the Wyrmkin with the duty of keeping the Rephaim imprisoned and also guarding the Heart Tree so that no human or creature would eat of it ever again. The Instruments withdrew their hold over the Rephaim soon after the Wyrmkin had created their own means to contain the Rephaim.**

Since then, peace has come upon the dangerous lands of Edhen."

Sirius closed the book with a snap, signifying the end of the book.

The group was quiet for a moment, absorbing the information from the book, before Hermione asked, "So this is the mythology of Edhen?"

Sirius snorted, "Call it mythology if you want, but everything that mentioned in this book is real. I mean all the creatures and everything. I don't know about the Instruments so I couldn't tell you about that, but everything else..."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "So let me get this straight, Christianity, Judaism, and Islamic are actually religions based off the religion from a _different dimension_?"

Sirius shrugged, "Take it for what you will… The real reason of this was to get a glimpse of what Edhen had in store for us."

Hermione shook her head, "I can't just _do_ that. After all, I found it strange that you kept saying Edhen which sounds _very_ similar to Eden and now you've read a book to us that sounded _just_ like the book of Genesis in the Bible along with reading the names of Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Samael, who are all angels, and even Sataniel which is an older version of Satan.

Also, there's a serpent, a girl, and a fruit tree no one's supposed to eat from!? Do you seriously expect me to believe we're heading to the _Garden of Eden_?"

Sirius shrugged, "I'm not going to try and give you a reason or explanation. I don't know… So, how about you ask questions about Edhen instead of the book?"

Hermione sighed before Harry asked, "The crystal orb that was mentioned with the spirit inside… I think that's what was talking to me in my dreams…"

Sirius looked over at Harry, "Yes, that was the Spirit Drake. It's a very powerful being. It can look into the future, the past, and into your thoughts if it wants to. It can connect with the mind of any Wyrmkin if it desires but it needs physical contact to do that with any other being."

Harry frowned. He didn't like that something he didn't even know about could be peeking inside his head.

Hermione, having found her composure, asked, "What are the Rephaim?"

Sirius kind of shrugged, "Not really sure to be honest. I never got a good look at one when I went last time; just glimpses. They're imprisoned in the Silent Forest and the Wyrmkin keep a close watch on them. They tend to stay away from the ward line that the Wyrmkin set up way back when."

Hermione pouted before Harry asked, "What do the Wyrmkin look like?"

Sirius smiled, "Don't worry! You're not going to sprout horns or a tail! Honestly, they look very human. There are only a few real differences and they can all be covered up easily enough."

Harry, while less than satisfied with the answer, nodded in acceptance before asking, "So my fifteenth birthday? In four days? That's when I'll…change?"

Remus answered, "Yes. It'll be painful but you'll be unconscious for most of it…at least, your mother was. Hopefully, the same will be true for you."

Harry rubbed his chin as he and Hermione stayed quiet for a good minute or two as they tried to figure out what questions they wanted to ask next.

Hermione decided on a question first, "So I'm guessing Da'at is magic, right?"

Sirius nodded.

Hermione continued, "So, if only non-magical people are brought to earth, then why are there wizards here and why did Harry's mum get brought here?"

Sirius answered, "Well, that initial guard of humans with magic intermarried with the non-magical humans. Wizards came into existence. Also, the Spirit Drake is powerful and very wise but it's not perfect. Occasionally, his shades will pick up a magical baby by mistake."

Harry interjected, "But my mum was a Wyrmkin, right? How would she be non-magical? Don't those…snake-things only do that to humans?"

Sirius shook his head, "The…nahash can do it to any really young child."

Hermione asks, "What happens if it happens to another race besides humans?"

Sirius rubbed the back of his head, "Well, Wyrmkin are essentially human until they turn fifteen so they just never change… But, all the other races…they die."

They absorbed this for a moment before Sirius informed them, "I want you to know now that Edhen is a _very_ dangerous place. They have all kinds of animals there including dinosaurs and all the really big mammals including mammoths and saber tooth tigers. On top of that, there are a slew of magical creatures including ogres, trolls, krakens, sea serpents, and...well…I would be here for an hour listing all the dangerous creatures Edhen hold."

As Sirius continued his lecture, Hermione frowned as she reviewed their conversation.

She was raised a Christian and so was familiar with the Bible and its contents. She had never told her parents but she had stopped believing in God many years ago when her logical mind had said it was impossible for an Almighty Creator to exist yet leave no conclusive evidence. And then when she discovered she was a witch, it only pushed her further from Christianity. After all, she would have been burned at the stake or stoned to death in years past if she had ever been discovered as a witch.

So, to hear from Sirius that there was a separate dimension where most everything that was mentioned a book that sounded much like the creation story of the earth, at the beginning anyway, was real…well…no one could really blame her if she was skeptical.

And this is _after_ she hears her best friend is apparently not even _human_!

She could only shake her head as Sirius continued with so more general information about Edhen, "The last thing we'll have to watch for is the Emim. I know the book said they're not all that dangerous but they _can be_ in large groups. They're…interesting looking. We should be fine as long as we're armed. They generally only come out at night but they avoid cities and villages for obvious reasons. If we get stuck out in the wilderness at night, we'll just have to make sure to keep a large fire going and always make sure someone is keeping watch."

Hermione looked ready to ask another question before Sirius held up his hand, "We'll talk about more of this later… For now, let's start training you guys in some battle magic."


End file.
